The Steve Fisher Files 1
Through his Gracing the Stage newsletter, Steve Fisher is an institution on the Toronto performing arts scene. We’re thrilled to provide Steve’s mini-reviews on this year’s SummerWorks Festival.
Fewer Emergencies: Director Brendan Healy simply and devastatingly stages this electrifying script by Martin Crimp, that starts out innocuously enough with emotionally removed narrators, who begin to channel the fears and anxieties of the people in their stories. The cast is all note perfect, but special mention must be made of Erin Shields, who shows enormous range, starting with light comedic banter, and eventually delving into a terrifyingly dark place to briefly assume a character mired in an abyss of pure evil. Don't miss this one.
Ablaze: Two sisters, reunited in Newfoundland by the illness of their grandmother, gradually uncover the secrets they've kept from each other since one left for a life on "the mainland". The audience at the show I saw broke out in sustained spontaneous applause after the first scene with all three characters; the dialogue sparkles with wit and authenticity, as the sisters bicker, and their grandmother sharply brings them in line. Nicky Guadagni's Nan in particular wields her bang-on Newfie colloquialisms with great relish and to enchanting effect. My criticism of the piece (a rather abrupt ending, and the not-quite-there emotional heft of Rosa Laborde's character's confession) is completely mitigated by the obvious fact that this play is destined to be a full length piece, and I'm greatly excited to see that.
I'm So Close It's Not Even Funny: For this multi-media show, Why Not Theatre explores how we lose our connection to each other and our own desires when we allow our lives to be dictated by the hectic pace of a global community that's working 24/7. There were several unfortunate technical glitches at the show I saw, like a projector that frequently wasn't co-operative, that leads me to believe this piece would be more effective if it was simplified. The best bits in the show were often the least dependent on technology, like Troels Hagen Findeen's marvellous physical characterizations and a stirring arctic dream sequence that manifests around Katarina Bugaj that was as low tech as it was inspired.
Pelee: Erin Brandenburg and Andrew Penner have surpassed the charm and music of their previous Fringe hit "Reesor" with this collection of historical tales about the southernmost island in Canada. The various stories of a teenage settler captured by Indians, a tragic heroine who falls for a trader, and the beauty of Pelee's native Monarch butterflies, are all beautifully enhanced by the live on stage accompaniment, performed by the actors, often on uniquely crafted instruments. The most enjoyable show I've seen so far at the festival.
The Girl With No Hands: There are elements in this play that work - an intriguing set, an on-stage accordion player, an actress (Talya Rubin) who's quite adept at flipping back and forth between multiple characters - but the play itself is limp and inert. It's a series of vignettes with a bespectacled young Brother Grimm, several versions of the tragic titular heroine, a crotchety old storyteller, and many others but we don't spend enough time with any one character to become emotionally invested in what they're striving for, or against. There's lots of atmosphere, but very little tension, and while co-creators Rubin and Jodi Essery (who directs) have put a lot of thought into the various elements of this fairy tale de-construction, they don't seem to have figured out whose story it is, and so we as an audience never really connect with the piece.
The Pastor Phelps Project: there's been a great firestorm of press about this little cabaret show, whose inspiration, the Westboro Baptist Church threatened (but ultimately were foiled by our border guards) to show up to picket its premiere. It's a clever and entertaining piece consisting almost entirely of found quotes by the ultra-right wing fundamentalist cult, woven into song, brief scenes, and even a very sexy dance of the seven veils.
All these shows are part of the 2008 SummerWorks Festival. If you’re curious, you can find out more information including show times by clicking on the word here.