Smile For Me: Stripping away Layers of Deceit in Between the Sheet

Between the Sheets, a play developed for the stage by Nightwood Theatre’s Write From the Hip program, and part of the New Groundswell Festival, is an enigmatic look at the sorrows and joys of womanhood. Directed by Kelly Thornton, and written by Jordi Mand, this play bravely explores how society constructs women’s identities, and how women use and abuse these expectations.

The setting commences in a children’s classroom, a fantastic arena for the lurid and shocking revelations to unfold. Here, the woman stand face to face, rehashing where they went wrong that led them to this encounter, all the while, head-on lighting harshly glares onto the women below, as if to expose their vulnerability, while horizontal lighting off to the side, radiates warm ambient glows stretching across the stage to provide a contrast.

Both women’s presence is a wholly reflective look at herself –in the past for Marion, or in the future for Teressa. Marion played by Susan Coyne, comes off as an austere woman, and yet underneath this scorching demeanour is a woman who is dealing with the immense heartache of a broken marriage and her own ageing process. On the other hand, Teressa, played by Christine Horne, is a woman who has lost her fertility at a young age, and is envious and spiteful at Marion, whom she feels possesses the one attribute that defines herself –the ability to bear children. While Teressa comes off as a mild-mannered young twenty-something school teacher, who upon first glances, seemingly possesses it all, behind her physical beauty lays a gaping void caused by her lost fertility, one that she is unable to cope with. She jumps at the first sign of interest from a married man, as a vain attempt to complete her.

This is a tragic story, neither unique nor outdated in any sense. Jordi Mand’s script grips a certain raw truth that still permeates society today. The absent yet enigmatic character of Marion’s husband is a focal point of the play. It universalizes the problem beyond just a physical man, delving into that underlying force that pits women against women; how that unspoken tension of jealousy that instigates cat fights and leads to dissolutions of relationships is always omnipresent. The son becomes another sort of mythic figure, this time a loving bond, one that binds adversaries together amidst all the self-pitying and animosity. Mand’s script flows effortlessly, striking a neat balance between drama and pathos. Both Teresa and Marion shared chemistry on-stage, as they create a space that extends beyond this dramatic standstill, and out into the real world where the audience can try and understand this influx surrounding women’s’ relationships with one another.

The High Art of Making Someone Uncomfortable in Between The Sheets

Opening a production with a percussive rhythm is somewhat cliche for a very good reason. For practical reasons, it’s great for hiding the footsteps of actors getting into place before the bright lights flood the stage, but it can also metaphorically stand as the opening heartbeat of the performance. The key idea at this time is to have the play’s liveliness directly follow, using whatever methods available to convey a vibrant existence. Between The Sheets, a selection by The New Groundswell Festival on now through December 10th, manages to create this exact sort of organic vibe with a minimal set, earnest lighting and sound design, two highly capable actresses, and a shockingly purposeful and direct script from Jordi Mand. Despite the usual, slightly turgid structural characteristics of a dual-character realist drama, the play feels studious in its appropriation of a Williams-esque style, effectively emulating some stronger examples of the genre. In most other cases, I wouldn’t be as enthused by a performance of this mode, but since Between the Sheets is still partly a work-in-progress, it has time to grow out of its trappings, and feels far more “along” than most in-progress works.

An hour running time perhaps underlines how little makes this play work and how little there is to really discuss without branching out past Between The Sheets’ content, but the three notable pieces here are the cast, direction, and script. Susan Coyne’s aged cynicism and hidden rage as Marion act as a counterpoint to Christine Horne’s fierce, amorphous naivety, forcing a striking dichotomy between teacher/parent and younger student of life/older student of life, and the tension never lets up for very long. The script succeeds in creating peaks and valleys of discomfort in various contexts (family, marriage, parenthood, etc.) and never relies on otherwise deadening closure. Between The Sheets, propelled by Kelly Thornton’s direction, always feels tremendously open and virile, aware of both the trodden territory it finds itself in and its place as a part of a dramatic continuum. The surrounding environment (set, lighting, and sound) seem devised to keep the focus directed on the aforementioned elements rather than take the spotlight themselves, but since the script hardly ever takes advantage of more aspirational design choices, this never seems like an issue.

Perhaps part of my enjoyment for Between The Sheets derives itself from the fact that it was far better than expected. That’s not to say that I expected it to be a lowlight of the year, but it’s rare that a young play ever has an idea of where it fits stylistically in the theatrical world early on in its development. It feels in tune with the vast dramatic cannon and is in touch with what makes those plays effective. It’s exciting to think of where Between The Sheets could ultimately end up, whether it will transcend its festival slot existence or disappear in ubiquity without a proper audience, but, ultimately, this character piece has the ability to make a stride as a strong piece of Canadian theatre.

Big Dog/No Bite

Obsidian Theatre Company and The Theatre Centre at 1087 Queen Street West will be showing Topdog/Underdog from November 22- December 4, 2011.  It is a play directed by Philip Akin and was written by playwright Suzan-Lori Parks.  The genre of this play is tragedy and is accompanied with mature humour.  Topdog/Underdog takes on very heavy topics such as neglect, violence and death but it lacks truth in small but pivotal moments in and around the story.  It carries a lot of weight with history and bravado, but was just not believable.  Ultimately, it is the script that fails to deliver any reality or truth.

The Theatre Centre is very much like a club scene; with the balcony view of the main stage and music heard playing from before you even enter the building.  People sat in their seats discreetly bopping their heads to the funky rap music of “If I Ruled the World” by Kurtis Blow and others.  The music selection for the evening suggested that it would be an 80’s kind of show and sure enough, that’s when the story takes place.  The show begins with Kevin Hanchard as Booth practicing his card trick moves he learned from his older brother Lincoln played by Nigel Shawn Williams.  As the young men use creative mischievousness and their criminal minds to maintain an image, they manage to live together in a small apartment while every now and then reflecting on their past and the example their parents’ livelihood left for them. 

The long curtains and the entire theatre is black.  It brings down the view of the show this way.  If we as the audience are going to stare into this apartment we might as well see some walls instead of a set of moving curtains, a wooden floor pattern, a lamp, a few chairs and a small bed.  The background (curtains) made it less believable and looked like the apartment was being sucked into the The Theatre Centre as its floor structure was purposely broken up.

I think that the show seemed more legit by Kevin Lamotte and Andrew Smith who did a wonderful job as lighting designers.  The stenciled window effect from the production team worked perfectly while one of the brothers sat staring out the window as the sun shown over his face.  I liked that the actors stared out into the audience this way, who were just a few feet away from them.  This felt more personal to me and put the audience back into the apartment, figuratively speaking.  Their lighting gave the staged apartment look a little more dimension.

I think there is much more hype about this play than it deserves.  Many famous actors have taken on the roles of Lincoln and Booth in Topdog/Underdog.  Kevin Hanchard and Nigel Shawn Williams may be able to out do one another and put on a great show.  But it’s the script that aches me!  Constantly, there were recurring phrases used but in different contexts perhaps to connect the current condition of Lincoln and Booth to the very unfortunate childhood of Lincoln and Booth.  The lines of the script were very repetitive.  There was nothing to take away from this story.  It reached its climax somewhere in the beginning and then just maintained its plateau.  Going back to the script, the only thing that kept the story rolling was the bickering between the men as they lied and humiliated one another.  Booth; with his attempt to prove he has a lot going for himself, and Lincoln; with his attempt to prove he is perfectly content with his current life and circumstance without any regrets.

Actors Kevin Hanchard and Nigel Shawn Williams were incredibly powerful and strong performers.  They act with their entire bodies and hold no punches when performing.  The problem I have is with the way they spoke.  The idea is that these two men grew up together in the same state, in the same neighbourhood and in the same house.  Perhaps it’s too much to look for perfection, but each own’s dialect was not similar.  How am I suppose to believe that two brothers grew up in the same area, to say the least, when the ways in which they accentuate their words are different?  Booth sounded more like he was from an urban and northern region, whereas Lincoln sounded more like he was from a southern part of the U.S. 
The play comes to an absurd end right out of left field.  There was no sign or a realist lead up to the actions of Booth and so it did not seem believable to a reasonable mind.  The tragic ending of the no-love life of Booth and his “Grace” also had nothing riding on it and so Booth’s actions came across as out of character for him.  It played like there were no consequences to a man’s actions.  As if Lincoln and Booth lived so far from reality and in their own little world. 

The thought of a younger brother wanting to imitate his older brother for a particular unlawful skill, sounds more like the story of Jesse James and his assassin Robert Ford but not that of American President Abraham Lincoln and his assassin John Wilkes Booth.  I think playwright Suzan-Lori Parks got too caught up in the names and tried to build a story from that.
 The show did receive a standing ovation despite the fact that it had a very awkward ending.  If you know about the true story of the president in 1865, then Topdog/Underdog is just too predictable.  You can see Topdog/Underdog at The Theatre Centre from November 22 -December 4, 2011.  Don’t be late!

Topdog/Underdog’s bark as strong as its bite.

It is not hard to see why American playwright Suzan Lori Parks’ Topdog/Underdog earned her the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.  This gritty, honest and evocative piece is a powerful meditation on race, rank and riches and Obsidian’s production, currently playing at the Theatre Centre in association with the Shaw Festival, is as strong as Parks’ writing.

 

The play centres around two black brothers living in a run-down apartment in an unnamed American city.  Named Lincoln and Booth by their ironic and apparently prophetic father, who subsequently abandoned them, the brothers struggle against their pasts, their circumstances and their inner demons in a never-ending effort to come out “top dog.”

 

Linc, played by Nigel Shawn Williams, is ostensibly the breadwinner, working for next to nothing at an arcade as a white-faced Abraham Lincoln for patrons to shoot at in an ominous take on historical re-enactment.  Booth doesn’t have a steady job but is a skilled “booster,” stealing anything he might want or need.  In his spare time Booth practices a three-card monte routine that Linc used long ago to separate marks from their cash.  At the top of the play, Linc refuses to teach Booth the routine, having sworn never to touch cards again after his street hustling led to the death of his friend and partner in crime.  Linc is determined to do only “honest” work, despite the somewhat humiliating and identity-undermining nature of his job.

 

The tragedy of the play is the mixture of fate and circumstance that shatter this dream and cost Linc his morals and eventually his life.  Throughout the play Linc is drawn to the cards like an addict to a fix, a comparison that is highlighted by the memorable stage picture of Lincoln edging toward the milk crate table where both cards and liquor sit, and ultimately choosing Southern Comfort as the lesser of two evils.  When he finally succumbs to the temptation to throw the cards again he does so with an addict’s sense of satisfaction, bragging that he’s back on top when he has in fact exchanged his morals for money.  Booth, played by Kevin Hanchard, also suffers a regression, his story arc a journey from blind optimism to violent cynicism and despair.  By the time the much-foreshadowed ending arrives, both Lincoln and Booth have reverted to their worst possible selves – Linc a gloating goading hustler and Booth a violent entitled murderer.  Camellia Koo’s set mirrors the characters’ moral deterioration, with the parquet wood flooring crumbling into piles of scattered sticks around them.

 
The fact that the climactic ending comes as no surprise given the characters’ names does nothing to soften its impact and it is a testament to Parks’ writing and to Williams and Hanchard’s acting that when the lights went down for the last time the audience sat in stunned silence for an extended moment before delivering a sombre standing ovation.

Topdog/Underdog is Top-Notch

The newest production at the Theatre Centre at 1087 Queen Street West is Suzan Lori-Parks’ award winning TOPDOG/UNDERDOG mounted by Obsidian Theatre Company. Director Philip Akin helms the ship of this voyage as we ask the questions underlying this play: Are we bound to repeat history? Is it inescapable?

Parks’ play delves into a relationship between two brothers; the inherent sibling rivalry and their desire to understand the desertion of their parents. We follow the characters of Lincoln: the older brother and broken shell of a man struggling to make ends meet by dressing up as the president of the same name only to be shot over and over again in the arcade he works at, and Booth: the younger womanizing brother out to prove himself to the world through less legitimate means. However, the real brilliance of TOPDOG/UNDERDOG lies in the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) shifts in power between the brothers as the play progresses.

Akin’s production is set in a grungy dilapidated apartment, furnished with the bare essentials: a bed and a reclining chair. Their table is formed out of two stacked milk crates and a board lain across.  Camellia Koo’s set design breathes the simplicity of true-life poverty.

Akin’s production also features a minimalist sound and lighting design. Music is heard only between scenes and the funky playlist certainly sets a tone for the piece. By removing the use of music from the play (with the exception of a short guitar interlude by Lincoln), more emphasis is placed on the words the actors speak. Kevin Lamotte’s lighting is also economical in nature, using only what’s necessary to make the scene work. Although, it should be pointed out how easily Lamotte is able to capture the states of day, switching flawlessly from night to morning.

By reducing the external elements, Akin places more focus on the actors and writing of Parks.  With good reason too, for that’s where most of the punch and tenacity of this play comes from.

Both actors make this play a spectacle worth watching. While Nigel Shawn William’s Lincoln seems depressive for the former half of the play, this statement is immediately juxtaposed by the turnaround he experiences in the latter half of the play. We see the transition from a broken hollow man, to the arrogant, playful hustler of his youth. Contrarily, Kevin Hanchard’s Booth is vivacious and exuberant utterly contrasting the stark solemnity of Williams. Both actors play off each other like veterans pulling and pushing the sympathies of the audience all whilst fighting each other for dominance within their relationship.

However, real star of the show is Parks’ phenomenal writing, which allows us to see into the love-hate relationship between these brothers but also poses deep philosophical questions. Does what we do, define us as a person? Is it when we are alone, that we truly are who we are?

For the answers to these questions and more, TOPDOG/UNDERDOG runs from November 22^nd-December 4^th 2011 at the Theatre Centre at 1087 Queen St. West.

 

 

“Two Brothers have seen it all”

Lincoln and Booth are no longer just two names.

Topdog/Underdog, the award winning play by Suzan-Lori Parks is playing at the Theatre Centre on Queen West till December 4, 2011.

The play was performed in the gymnasium space where The Theatre Centre has been for almost twelve years. The small space allows for a very intimate viewing of two brothers living in a cramped apartment. Kevin Hanchard, who plays the younger brother Booth and Nigel Shawn Williams who plays the older brother Lincoln,  have great chemistry on stage and deliver their lines very poetically.

Directed by Philip Akin, the play had some interesting engaging elements such as the repetitive shuffling performance by the two brothers. The choice to create a broken tiled floor along with the recliner doubling up as Lincoln’s bed, added to the feeling of ruin and poverty in the apartment. The magazines under the bed were useful in hinting at a possible time period. Even though the dialogue was lengthy, the set and actors provided visual interest. One of the most visually interesting scene was the introduction of Lincoln while he erased face paint off himself and changed costume on stage. The music played by Lincoln also added to the already melodic dialogue in the play.

The show was interesting in it’s minimal elements such as the basic lighting and no background music. The focus thus remained on the two brothers and their unique story. I would recommend seeing the show, not just for the talented actors but also how they interact with the unique space of the theatre.

Topdog/Underdog is Top-notch/Uber-play!

Topdog/Underdog is Top-notch/Uber-play!

(A play review of Topdog/Underdog by Samantha Youill)

After viewing the disappointing revival-productions of Red and The Rez Sisters, I feared this next show would result to my final loss of hope for all things old-turned-new, especially upon realizing that Topdog/Underdog alludes to history via characters named Lincoln and Booth. I am pleased to announce, however, that The Theatre Centre, located on Queen Street West, is playing an astounding example of what good can become of the old with Topdog/Underdog, which will run until December 4.

There are many things that make this play intriguing, economics being one of them. This Pulitzer Prize winning work by one of the United States’ most exciting dramatists, Suzan-Lori Parks, was first presented at the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake this past summer. The director, Philip Akin, is the same fine actor and artistic director of our city’s significant Obsidian Theatre Company, which is dedicated to works produced by people of color. Furthermore, the two stars of the show— the utterly brilliant Kevin Hanchard and enthusiastic Nigel Shawn Williams — hail from there as well.

Shows limited to one or two characters often feel limited emotionally or physically but Topdog/Underdog proved how great two-handers can be: Two brothers, cruelly named Lincoln (played by Williams) and Booth (played by Hanchard) by their angry, neglectful parents, argue back and forth about their upbringing, abandonment, jobs, girlfriends, poverty and gambling over two acts, each about an hour in length. Sounds simple, but as a re-enactment of the Cain and Abel story from the Bible, it is devastating.  Like the title suggests, Topdog/Underdog is a play about competition, reversals, and mirror images that reflect the true self; the play’s obvious historical context does not extend far beyond the character Lincoln mimicking the Founding Father as when he applies whiteface, models several different types of fake beards, and sits in a chair awaiting visitors who pay to assassinate “Abraham Lincoln” with a cap gun. Nevertheless, Parks’ fascination with history, especially personal history, and the ways in which illusion can reveal identity makes for riveting drama.

The ultimate love-hate relationship! Plenty of humour and turmoil can be found in the tumultuous relationship of Booth and Lincoln, the only two characters to take stage in "Topdog/Underdog".

Much credit should be given to the play’s set and costume designer Camellia Koo, who has set the scene perfectly in accordance to the play’s deeper implications. The play takes place on a set that reflects the coming apart of society and human relationships: in a run-down boarding house. There, the parquet floor is coming apart in a thousand loose pieces, a most accurate reflection of the state of the characters’ lives within the play. It opens with the younger brother Booth (Hanchard) practicing his con game of Three Card Monte, acting out his corrupt art (“Set up the game at another corner! The red card is the winner, the black card is the loser!” — there is striking symbolism for you).

Topdog/Underdog may be predictable at times, as we all know how Lincoln and Booth and, before them, Cain and Abel, end up. But overall, the play is far from typical–its historical relation is only used as an interesting backdrop to host an even more thrilling story, which is dual-toned: On the one hand, it is about how these two brothers, left by their parents and forced to take care of each other, deal with the world and their relationship; on the other hand, Topdog/Underdog is also about what it means to be a black man as, for example, embedded most in Link’s emasculating act of putting on whiteface.  The suspense of the play is founded upon the circumstances of the relationship between Lincoln and Booth: Although each brother acts strange and secretive about how he has been affected by their parents’ abandonment, both know they are connected in this basic way and, as such, are in constant battle with the fact that they need each other as much as they rip each other to pieces on stage.

To differentiate itself even more from the typical is the play’s musical quality of which Park has tactfully written the rests and beats into the script. Unlike productions wherein the material of the script is handled too slowly, the internal rests of the play actually break up the scenes into sections and, in such sections, the language is fast. In this play, wherein a number of lines are spoken  in rap-rhyme verse, the text kicks in a staccato fashion.

Parks’ script is richly layered with metaphors and symbolism, her characters are complex, and their relationship is compelling. So, watch closely and listen up, folks, because Topdog/Underdog is history in the making!

Below is a video that includes clips and commentaries of the Topdog/Underdog performance showing at The Theatre Centre, many of which serve as evidence of the production’s ability–from script, to acting, to stage design–to awe the audience:

Who’s really the Top Dog?

Suzan Lori Parks has always been noted for being a politically and socially charged playwright and her play Top dog/Underdog is no exception.  This dramatically charged play is brought to The Theatre Center, produced by the Afro-centric theatre company Obsidian.  Top dog/Underdog questions the role of the black male figure in modern day America.  What does it mean to be a black male and what are some of the day to day struggles he must face in the world and in his own personal life.  This play tells the stories of two brothers abandoned by their parents at an early age and are left with $500 each to fend for themselves in this cruel world.  To make ends meet one took up the hobby of hustling people with a good old fashion card game. He tries to move out of that lifestyle and later on takes the job of playing Abraham Lincoln in an arcade while he’s brother becomes a professional thief.   The whole play shows the power struggle of the two brothers; the role of the Top dog and Underdog change throughout the whole piece.  The two brothers Link and Booth try to outwit, out play and out last each other, proving to each other who is the stronger, more wiser, better off of the two. As the play progresses however, the playfulness of the brotherly rivalry takes on a rather serious tone, especially when it comes on to a matter of money.

                It is also important to note that Suzan was a big fan of history so it is not accident that she names her two main characters Link and Booth, after President Lincoln and the man who allegedly assassinated him, John Wilk Booth.  Having already read this play prior I knew what to expect in the ending; Booth killing his brother Lincoln, a play on history.  In regards to the production itself, I was thoroughly impressed with the acting. I was even more impressed with the actor Nigel (Link) because I know him to be a director, and having worked with him before on a York University production I know his talented skills as a director, so it pleased me more to see that he is just as equally a good actor as her is a director. The uniqueness that he brings to the character is very impressive and often times reminded me of “The Joker” in Dark Knight, played by Heath Ledger.  It was fitting as Link’s character is essentially a trickster and con artist.

                I was a little disappointed with the set, I thought there could have been more to it, and the loose tiles became a bit distracting as the actors at times had to kick them out of the way. Nonetheless the annoyance of the set was overshadowed by the actors’ performances and the overall plot and all the intensity and comedic moments it brought with it.  Overall, I will say it was the acting and the deep investments of the actors in their characters that was the saving grace for this production.

Just Topdog

The Theatre Centre in collaboration with the Obsidian Theatre Company brings to Toronto the 2002 Pulitzer prize-winning drama Topdog/Underdog. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks, Topdog/Underdog presents the gritty reality of adulthood of two brothers; Booth and Lincoln (played by Kevin Hanchard and Nigel Shawn Williams). Pitilessly named after the President, Abraham, and his assassin John Wilkes by their parents, who have been off the radar since they were small, the play explores the brothers’ tempestuous relationship and their tension-fuelled power dynamics whilst both individually facing up to what their lives have become. When it comes to power, Topdog/Underdog certainly packs a punch.

Suzan Lori-Parks powerful script would be enough to carry this two-man, one-scene play through to the end. Booth and Lincolns’ exchanges in their damp, sparsely furnished bedsit range from brotherly banter to bitter disputes to jealous rages and have almost a poetry about them. Parks has managed to channel the rhythm of African-American vernacular which is conveyed repeatedly in the brothers’ quest to find fame and fortune by manipulating playing cards. “If-you-pick-duh-black-one-you-ah-the-winnah, if-you-pick-the-red-one-you-ah-the-losah”. Lincoln, in a twist of fate is dressed as the late President as part of his dead end job is presented as the older, weaker and more subdued one. However, when playing cards, his speech and presence comes to life and dominates, allowing the tension to appear over time  and develop between him and his stronger-willed more temperamental younger brother.

Nevertheless, the stage design by Camellia Koo is beautifully simplistic. The pieces of broken lino on the floor literally symbolise how the two brothers are rough around the edges and have a fragmented self-identity. Props and choreography give enough away while still being naturalistic. Lincoln and Booth each hold front from one side of the room – Booth’s side scattered with porn magazines and Lincoln living out of a suitcase and a whiskey bottle.

This play is at times childish although adult in content which is necessary to be in fitting with the characters. However, black comedy is at all times prevalent. Underneath the card-playing and the chasing money and women there is tragedy, abuse and despair and such dark humour may not be to everyone’s taste. However, there is an outstanding display of acting talent from two young actors in the form of Booth and Lincoln, especially. Although the play’s conclusion was disappointingly anti-climactic, this seemed more to be due to cue and prop issues than with the performance itself.  The acting, stage and storyline combined make Topdog/Underdog an intimate show of sibling rivalry that should be a must-see this season.

Call Me Three Card

Call Me Three Card

 

So this is the life of a hustler. Topdog/Underdog by Susan-Lori Parks is a play about a hustler who tries to break free from his swindling life style, only to face constant pressure from his thieving brother to return to his old habits. Two characters, Lincoln, played by Nigel Shawn Williams and Booth, played by Kevin Hanchard are the only actors in this play. Both acts are played out in Booths’s broken down bachelor apartment. This play addresses many social issues, primary abandonment, addiction and depression.

The stage setting is a perfect depiction of a broken down bachelor apartment. It could be assumed the apartment is in a poor neighbourhood due to the lack of maintenance in the room. The parquet floor tiles are broken and scattered around the room. The furniture is minimal and torn, only a single cot style bed with a flimsy blanket, and an old recliner chair with a floor lamp beside it are the stationary furniture. Some old milk creates are stacked with a wooden board laid across to make a table. As the characters develop and the audience learns more about the two men on stage, the setting  becomes relevant to the life styles of these characters, and the circumstances to which they live the way they do.

There are only two characters in this play, therefore character develop is essential to convey the story. Nigel Shawn Williams and Kevin Hanchard display incredible skills in bringing these complex characters to the stage. It is easy to pass judgement on someone for their circumstances, it is not so easy to try and understand why people are the way they are. The audience learns that Lincoln used to be a street card hustler, who when chooses to give up that life style and the money, finds himself with no wife and no home. Moving in with his brother Booth and taking a job at the local arcade, he tries to stay on the straight and narrow. Booth on the other hand sees this as an opportunity to get his own card scam going and tries to get his brother to teach him the moves. Booth is so convinced that this is the only way to get along in life that he even asks Lincoln to call him Three Card. Lincoln struggles with not giving in to Three Card and he fights his urges to pick up the cards. Booth on the other hand chooses to steel instead of take up regular employment. This is how the audience learns about the life these brothers had to come to this point. Abandonment issues are the primary cause, but there is evidence that both have addictive tendencies, and depression issues. However, as the audience gets more intimate details about these characters, it is impossible not to try and understand how they wound up like they did.

Due to the nature of this play there are a couple of scenes where the language is a little harsh and some of the implied actions on stage are a bit risky. However, to remove these aspects from  the play would take away from the character development. The display of adult magazines on the floor under Booth’s bed and his need to masturbate, feed into his character, his need to protect his manhood. When the brothers are discussing their parents, some of the dialogue is strong with descriptive vulgar phrases. It is understandable under the circumstances of their upbringing that phrases such as these could be used to describe the situations of their childhood. Again giving the audience clues into the characters on stage. The constant repeating of their childhood stories at different times through the play indicate that abandonment and depression issues are prevalent.

Three Card and Lincoln do not resolve their issues, with each other or with themselves. How this play ends is truly sad, but not so much because of the actions on the stage, but for the fact that most people who are in similar situations as these two, suffer from similar endings. The social issues addressed in this play are very real and for the most part misunderstood. There is a lot to gain from this play, besides a fantastic performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s a dog-eat-dog world

Topdog/Underdog is a highly charged glimpse at the competitive and symbiotic relationship of two African-American brothers. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks and produced by Obsidian Theatre in association the Shaw Festival, this play leaves many unanswered and unsettling questions about the plight of the African-American male in today’s society.

Lincoln (Nigel Shaw Williams) has moved in to the dilapidated New York apartment of his younger brother Booth (Kevin Hanchard), having given up on being a three-card monty hustler. But it is clear from the outset that there are real tensions and jealousies at work between the two. This is set up from the beginning with their names, a joke by their father. John Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who opposed the abolition of slavery and shot and killed former United States President Abraham Lincoln, who wanted to give emancipated slaves the right to vote. It strongly foreshadows the violence to come.

The starkness of the stage, the lack of sound and the minimal lighting, all add to the realism of this drama. It serves to bring the audience in close to the action. Topdog/Underdog, directed by Philip Akin, is like sitting on a threadbare sofa, smoking a cigarette, having a drink and watching as two people fight, jostle for position and reminisce, right in front of you. But what they’re sparring about reaches past fraternal competitiveness; it speaks to the urban and cultural times in America on down to the roots of colonialism and slavery. What is there for an unskilled black man, but hustling or poverty, discrimination and hardship, left over from slavery? By having such a pared down set, Akin make sure the audience can’t escape the brutality and violence to come, sprung from history, both individual, familial and societal.

For Lincoln, there were cards, until he gave them up after the death of his partner. Instead, he has become a white-face Abraham Lincoln impersonator, who gets shot every night in a constant re-enactment of the assassination of Lincoln. It is for Lincoln, his bid for a respectable job. But for Booth, there is still much denial of reality and an overwhelming desire to be like his big brother, a card hustler. Lincoln, however, has only criticism to offer telling Booth there is no luck in cards, only skill. As they try to figure out their place with each other and in the world, a history of poverty, betrayal and abandonment emerges, along with an image of their father as a drinker and womanizer. This is his legacy.

It is a powerful, biting play full of poetry and dread, with an outside chance of hope dancing on the periphery. Parks’ writing is sharp and edgy. It is easy to see why she won a Pulitzer Prize for drama for Topdog/Underdog, the first African-American woman to do so. She plays with the tensions between black and white, poverty and wealth, privilege and discrimination in a fascinating way. Shaw Williams and Hanchard embrace the script, making the audience believe they are watching competing siblings, rather than actors. In the end, we are left to wonder whether Booth can survive without Lincoln, and whether the African-American male can find his place in a displaced world.

Topdog/Underdog runs until Dec. 4 at the Theatre Centre, 100-1078 Queen St. W. in Toronto. For tickets, call the box office at 416-538-0988 or visit the Obsidian Theatre Company website.

A Tragic and Dark Retelling of a Historical Death

Obsidan theatre and director Philip Akin present the Toronto premiere of Topdog/Underdog. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks, Topdog/Underdog tells the story of two broke brothers who had been abandon by their parents at a young age. Conflicted and confused by their family history, the brothers lean on each other for emotional support and through comforting each other they unveil the secrets that they have been keeping for years. The story then turns into a sibling rivalry and through a game of cards we see the brothers come to a tragic end. Overall, The Theatre Centre had a successful Thursday night with amazing performances from both actors and a great set production, all which captured the dark and tragic elements of the play.

Topdog/Underdog is a play consisting of only two characters. Nigel Shawn Williams plays the character Lincoln, while Kevin Hanchard portrays the character Booth. Whether you are interested in history or not, the name Lincoln should ring some bells. The character Lincoln in Topdog/Underdog is named after the sixteenth President of the United States. While his brother, Booth is named after Lincoln’s assassinator, John Wilkes Booth. Just on a side note, not only is it interesting to see Parks name her characters after two huge historical figures in U.S. history but if one does a background check on Booth, you will also discover that he was an American stage actor who assassinated Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. It is interesting to see the play mimic the events of Lincoln’s assassination, however it took it to a whole new level when I discovered that John Booth himself was a stage actor. The play suddenly just gave off a darker vibe when you realized that you were watching a play in a theatre about someone’s assassination which also took place in a theatre. Talk about history coming to life! As for the acting all I can say is WOW! There are no words to describe the final scene. Williams and Hanchard were brilliant! So much drama and emotion that brought out the tragic feel of the play; their performance is definitely one of the best seen this fall season.

In this production, we also see the return of set and costume designer Camellia Koo. Koo recently showed off her talents with the Tarragon production of Children’s Republic and she returns once again with Obsidan’s production of Topdog/Underdog. With the set, Koo really captured the grungy feel of an apartment that is owned by a man whose life is in a disarray. Koo was also able to create a very lonely feel with the set, although it was cluttered at the same time it was very empty; sort of like the characters. Both characters have so much chaos in their lives but at the end of the day they always seem to be missing something, leaving them in the depressed states that they are in. As for the costumes, Koo once again kept it simple as she did in the production of Children’s Republic. She did not go over the top with the costumes and did not make anything that would look out of the ordinary for everyday life. Lighting designer, Kevin Lamotte also did a great job by dimly lighting the stage for most of the performance and the great transitions he creates with the light from scene to scene should definitely not go unnoticed. Overall, the work that went into the set production did a great job of giving the play a dark and lonely look.

All in all, Topdog/Underdog is definitely a production that you should not miss this season!

The play will be held at The Theatre Centre, located at 1087 Queen Street West, Toronto ON.

The performance runs for approximately two hours and twenty minutes with one intermission.

The Rez Sister’s – A tale that’s not stale

From November 5^th to December 11^th, Factory Theatre brings us bingo, trickster spirits and the inter-woven tales of seven native Canadian women living at the fictional Wasaychigan Hill Indian reserve through Tomson Highway’s highly acclaimed landmark play, ‘The Rez Sisters’.

Highway’s drama sits unusually but not uncomfortably between a realist stance regarding the gritty ‘real-life’ issues the seven aboriginal women try and come to terms with on stage coupled with a fairy-story like edge with their mission of raising money and travelling to the elusive ‘Biggest Bingo in the World’ in faraway Toronto. Their adventure throughout the two Acts is accompanied (by Nanabush (played by Billy Merasty, a relative of Highway and nephew of the original Nanabush in its premier in the 1980s) a bird-like Aboriginal spiritual figure who can only be seen by character’s leaning further away from the realism portrayed. Zhaboonigan Peterson, played remarkably well by Cara Gee, is mentally slower than the other women. Her innocence and increased sensitivity allows Nanabush to become visible and like a guardian angel to her. We see a tacit but tactile relationship form between them in the midst of the ‘real-life’ events playing out simultaneously on stage. Contrary to his relationship with Zhaboonigan, Nanabush evolves into a kind of Grim-reaper like character with the one other woman who can see him. There is a haunting scene where on their way to Toronto, Nanabush looms closer and closer irreversibly to Marie-Adele Starblanket (played by Pamela Sinha) a Mother of fourteen who is stricken with cancer.

The real and the surreal is punctuated further by the stark contrast between serious drama and light-hearted humour. Instead of feeling erratic, the differences in tone complement each other and allow the emotional monologues that come from Emily Dictionary, Zhaboonigan and others to feel more realistic and give meat to their otherwise jocular characters. The same fluidity can be said about the stage design. Every unit of space is cleverly used by designer Gillian Gallow so every scene and scene change is swift and keeps the audience engaged. In keeping with the fairy-story aspects of the play, a sloping never-ending road is used for their journeys in and out of the reserve; the crooked roof of a house used as the main talking-point and later a shop counter.

As well as humour and tragedy mapping out the story, a chorus song, dancing and an interactive bingo game were all part of the dynamic performance. Although there was a wide-range of visual stimuli they all have one thing in common – they are all performed in unison, reminding the audience of the special and distinct relationship the women have with each other from life on the reserve – at times loving; at times baring fists at each other; but to the end, sisters. Little changes by the end of the performance, but it is the journey that the audience takes throughout, literally and metaphorically, that makes this play special.

The Rez Sisters Is Not Of This World

The Rez Sisters is Not of this World

(A play review of The Rez Sisters by Samantha Youill)

(Left to Right) Billy Merasty, Cara Gee, Jani Lauzon, Kyra Harper, Djennie Laguerre, Pamela Sinha, Michaela Washburn & Jean Yoon in Tomson Highway’s The Rez Sisters at Factory Theatre, November 5 – December 11, 2011.

Recent news tells of the living conditions of the northern native community of Attawapiskat near James Bay, which are so deplorable that officials there are urging the province to evacuate the community of more than 2,000 before winter sets in. Having said this, it’s show time for Canadian playwright Tomson Highway and artistic director Ken Gass, their collaboration resulting to the all-new production of the exuberant Canadian classic titled The Rez Sisters. Although not remotely related to the newstory, I suspected the play, which is about seven women—sisters, half-sisters, step-sisters—who all live on a Cree reserve but want to venture from it towards Toronto to rid of their personal problems and realize each of their dreams by winning the jackpot at “Biggest Bingo in the World”, would result to an overall intriguing performance. Even more interested was I considering the cast of Ken Gass’ revival of The Rez Sisters at the Factory Theatre, wherein the show will play until December 11, as not restricted to the inclusion of only native performers. Indeed, Ken Gass’ decision to cast the show “color blind” did little to meet my expectations of a liberating performance. Unlike the news, the quality of this play made it such that it didn’t feel real.

Highway’s play first showed in 1986 and instantly earned a place in the North American theatre canon for presenting the life of native Canadians in what was perceived to be an honest light for the first time. Although Canadian theatre was not of special interest to me at this time, given the current affairs I see no wrong in my expectation of its revival to serve much the same. Unfortunately, it did not. Whereas the preservation of script saved the revived production of Red, which was seen earlier this week and of which its original production is—like The Rez Sisters—more worthy of esteem, the complete opposite is true of this play. Each sister has her own demons to deal and, despite how dramatic each of them are, they are all so typical: there is the case of rape, the case of cancer, the case of the lost love…need I say more? Perhaps the combination of such issues made for an utmost compelling play when it premiered 25 years ago, when such topics would promote the play as full of suspense from the forbidden, but such is not the case anymore. This is not to say that the play, in respect of content, will put you to sleep—such makes for fine soap-opera drama, which, in the very least, promises an entertaining night. The play has energy but not the right kind for its nature, which is more in relation to natives rather than the general public.

Herein lies my problem:  If The Rez Sisters is a genuine show in support of native Canadians, I was neither prepared to settle for such recycled plots nor able to find sensible reason for Gass’ decision to cast the show in a mixture of colors ranging from red, black, brown, and white. While the cast comprises of a mixture of races and, as such, the only credit I owe to Gass is the liberal awakening it may start in appreciation for Highway, who has said that political correctness in theatre is to blame for his lack of advancement in his career as a playwright whose work is often a show of his brave effort to focus on native community.

Amusing, yes; meaningful, not so much. Although "The Rez Sisters" is a grand opportunity to shed light on the sensitive subject of Native Canadians yet Gass' revival is based on surrealism, which makes me want to grab that hammer (pictured here) and knock some sense into him.

Thus while the play encourages measures of progressive political reform, it is misguided of the script’s real reason for existence: an honest depiction of a real culture.

Just as I do not want to see The Children’s Republic performed by skinheads, I do not prefer to see Tomson Highway’s play performed by a rainbow of cast members, no matter how colorful it paints the stage. The opening scene of Factory Theatre’s The Rez Sisters, wherein black actor Djennie Laguerre suddenly appears onstage in the role of Annie Cook (the resident living on the Manitoulin Island Indian reserve who adores country music) is just one of the scenes that have been recreated in the delight of Gass’ fancy for experimentation. True to the freedom of art, Gass’ attempt to produce something new out of something old is acceptable, but not when it stirs the beauty of Highway’s landmark play. Forget preparation and you will avoid expectation, it seems. The director’s diverse cast mixes native and Métis performers with those of Haitian, Korean and South Asian origin; as they congregate on Gillian Gallow’s surreal set, you quickly forget about race and become, instead, caught up in their characters, of which undermines the original intent of the production and of which I very much looked forward to witnessing in this revival. The only truth about this show is that it appears to be an amusing one at the expense of its deeper implications.

To further his well-meaning but ultimately self-defeating attempt at being open-minded, the production is split into two segments, both of which do little in subjecting the play as reality-based but does contribute to its overall entertainment value. The play has two acts and in a way it felt as if it were of two different plays. The first act is lighter and more comical in comparison to second act; loud and full of frenzy with name-calling, I felt I was watching a 70s TV sit-com. The second act of The Rez Sister does not pay any more respect for the sensitivity of the plays central subject matter, the suffering of Natives; however, it is in this part of the show wherein the performers came alive and I started caring about the women and stopped thinking of them as characters in my learning of their stories, hopes, and fears and, ultimately, the reasons for wanting to win the bingo pot (but, like I said before, the stories are not particularly unique today). The second-act scene wherein we see the sisters engaged in a flurry of bottle drives, babysitting, bake sales and other fundraising activities is one of the highlights of Gass’ lively if uneven staging. In keeping with the non-traditional casting, he emphasizes the stylization and musical structure of Highway’s writing instead of its gritty realism, so that these ensemble scenes are like noisy orchestral pieces, while the soliloquies resemble introspective solos. Composer Wayne Kelso does little to promote some sense of authenticity to the initial production when he  underscores almost every line of dialogue—annoyingly so, might I add—and accommodating the sisters’ harsh behavior with sudden outputs of wild, jazzy percussion. Had it been performed on another occasion—separate from this production—the country song sang by Michaela Washburn as the bisexual biker Emily Dictionary would have been more appreciated.

As if I was not yet confused beyond belief, Gillian Gallow’s design of a surreal set, in which the roof of Pelajia’s house and Marie-Adele’s white picket fence protrude from a sea of gravel, dumbfounds me even more; At least it’s functional and, like André du Toit’s use of spotlights, the design pairs nicely with Gass’ non-realistic approach. Robin Fisher’s character-defining costumes, which include a ridiculous miniskirt for the aging-but-vain Philomena and a cowgirl outfit for Annie, are a delight. But just as I did not arrive at the Factory Theatre to watch a soap-opera, I did not come prepared for a circus performance of set, lights, and fashion.

I would have liked to see a more real and therefore serious production that I believe the subject matter of this play deserves. Upon the viewing of The Rez Sisters, I did not want to be so much entertained as much as I wanted to feel inspired. Perhaps I am at fault for having such high expectations for this play but I believe to expect less would be insulting. And Gass has done enough damage to the production as it is, hasn’t he?

Topdog/Underdog: Creating Your Own Reality

Written by: Kimberly Nguyen

Seen on December 1, 2011

The Theatre Centre presents a story that treads into the past of both brothers’ Lincoln (played by Nigel Shawn Williams) and Booth (played by Kevin Hanchard) lives, where snippets of jealously, fear, and truth resurface into their present lives. Written by Suzan-Lori Parks, Topdog/Underdog—originally performed in New York—takes place in an old, dirty, rugged apartment in New York. Lincoln moves in with his little brother Booth, where their sibling rivalry shoots the plot towards to questions ideas of brotherhood, race, and disadvantaged upbringings. Director Philip Akin is able to convey the realness of the two characters with the minimal use of lighting, and sound—this keeps the focus on only the two actors within their setting.

The Theatre Centre is a small and intimate place—a suitable venue for Topdog/Underdog. The set is made only a few inches away from the first row of audiences, giving the audience an up-close, personal performance. Looking at the stage, the audience immediately notices the broken down parquet flooring, and dirty magazines spilling out under all sides of the bed. The rusted bed frames, torn blanket, and dull blue polka dot sofa chair gives off a mood of dirtiness. Set designer, Camellia Koo gives attention to small details within the set to create a realistic setting.

Naturalism works within Topdog/Underdog to encourage the audience to believe in the realities of the play. One choice that Akin makes to mimic real life is to minimalize the use of sound and lighting. For example, lighting is mainly used to only distinguish what time of day it is. And the only time we hear sounds or music—besides the theatre’s creaking upstairs floors, and unplanned sounds of the music seeping past the stage walls—is when sound coordinator, Joe Lapinski plays the beginning music to act one and two, and when Lincoln plays his guitar.

With minimal use of lighting and sound to flood the stage, the audience focus is all directed to the actors. The audience pays more attention to Lincoln and Booth’s dialect, walk, clothes, facial expressions—and most importantly, their relationship with one another. Even though Lincoln is the older brother, Booth comes off as more confident, put together, and assertive. But, when Lincoln puts his mask on (his Honest Abe costume), he gains his old confidence back. The brothers create a false reality to cover up the true disgust of their real lives with something good. Booth continues to create lies about his lover Grace to hide the fact that she doesn’t want him back. As they continue to dive into the past, the truth of their brokenness is revealed. It is here where the audience can understand the state of the two characters.

This Dog Has Bite

courtesy of globeandmail.com

Topdog/Underdog, performed at the Theatre Centre on Thursday December 1st, 2011, written by Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Philip Akin, is a play about optical illusions: what you see is not always what you get. Inside a claustrophobic bedroom, with a centre piece consisting of a haphazardly-constructed milk crate table, the set-up duplicates a match between two keen opponents. This is exactly the world that the audience enters into: one filled with smack talking free verse poetry, cryptic allusions, deception and poker-faces to boot.

Playing cards is a cheap release; it is where the brothers’ alter-egos thrives, the only place where they wield imaginary power over a society that has exploited them. The volatile relationship between the Booth and Lincoln ricochets between madness and jubilance. There is never a dull moment on stage. Ultimately, all they have is one another, in all their love and anger, glory and jealousy.

A beat-up, haggard bachelor apartment is the stage where two emotionally-charged brothers unwind. The illuminated lamp on one side and the dressing partition that hides the other half of the room are two parts of the whole.  It is where Booth and older brother Lincoln, set about re-constructing their fractured lives after a broken childhood leaves them with blistering wounds. Booth, performed by Kevin Hanchard, and Lincoln, by Nigel Shawn Williams, cross between soul and passion, leaving behind memorable impressions, ones that push their harrowing ordeal into overdrive.

While the lack of music was perceptibly felt, Park’s intricate script breathes life into the characters’ delusions of grandeur. And while the second act breezes by, the first act is too lengthy.

This play depicts how money problems lead Booth to prophesize about a career in hustling cards on the street yet selfishly ignores the pitfalls of chasing after fast money. Money is a double-edge sword, which Booth does not realize until the finale, when in killing his brother Lincoln -through a gunshot to the head  -he destroys his only friend and foe. And in destroying him, he also destroys himself.

Rez Sister: A Journey of Hurt to Healing–Hate to Love

Written by: Kimberly Nguyen

Seen on: November 29, 2011

The Factory Theatre livens their stage with an important slice of Native culture in the production, The Rez Sisters. Directed by Ken Gass, and written by Tomson Highway, The Rez Sisters is a play that indulges in the secrecy, gossip, and lives of the women living in the fictional Native reserve: Wasaychigan Hill. The women’s obsession with playing bingo leads them to discover The Biggest Bingo In the World in Toronto.  The hope of winning The Biggest Bingo In The World takes the Wasy women on a journey that exposes the hurt and brokenness found in each woman’s life, but through this journey, the Native women find self-discovery and healing as a

With an upbeat country song humming in the background, the audience comes into the theatre to see an open stage, allowing them to notice the unique stage layout. In the middle of the stage lies a long black, elevated pathway, giving the stage more levels and depth. On one side of the pathway sits a wooden house that seems to be sunken into the stage. Across the house onto the other side of the stage stands a worn out white picket fence—also sinking into the stage.

These unique set choices created by set designer, Gillian Gallow works to not only create a whimsical feel to the play, but also to provide easy scene changes. For example, the scene where Marie-Adele Starblanket (played by Pamela Sinha) is folding her children’s clothes quickly changes into the scene at the convenient store. The roof of the house becomes a shelf for boxes of cereal, and the pathway helps to create the illusion that the store is big. The odd angles of the set add a theatrical mood to the overall play.

The genre: Tragicomedy works well with the context of the script. Highway writes a script that mass over the serious issues with a taste of humour to reflect the Native community of Wasaychigan. The Wasy women sorrow, hate, and hurt towards themselves or others are lifted away with the laughs they share, and the memories they hold with one another. The juxtaposition of seriousness and humour allows the audience to understand the Wasy women’s life and community.

Highway takes the audience’s experience a step further by adding an interactive element to the script. Nanabush, the bird (played by Billy Merasty) changes into the Bingo host gets the audience to participate in the small bingo prize game. All the actresses run out into the audience and find a seat to play. The audience is brought into the play to feel the excitement of possibly winning bingo (even if the prize was only 20 dollars). The audience cannot help but connect with the actors. This interactive element allows the audience to better understand the overwhelming excitement the Wasy women felt over the Biggest Bingo In The World.

The Rez Sisters is a theatrical play that invites the audience to follow along side the journey the Wasy women go through. The play allows the audience to look into the characters’ intimate lives and experience the healing they go through in a disjointed time of their lives.

You Pick this Card, You Pick the Winner.

As jealousy causes the ego to falter, we find the worst in ourselves and hope to overcome it by bringing out the flaws in others. Topdog/Underdog tells the story of two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, who having undergone a complex and tragic family history, find themselves in lower positions than they once held. The play highlights the cohesive moments in which they are as true blood brothers and holds them in contrast to the moments when their jealousy of each other renders them unable to accept each other’s being. It is in the latter that the story finds its course, fiercely motivated by their desires they find the relatable moments in which we have all found ourselves seeking to feel as though we are better than whoever we have identified as our counterpart.

The sibling rivalry is so strongly held in the acting of both Kevin Hanchard playing Booth, and Nigel Shawn Williams in the role of Lincoln. They story finds moments of humour in which Hanchard and Williams show comfort, beckoning laughter as they triumph through. However, it is in the moments of anger, determination and self reflection do they allow for their demons to take over the stage, there is nothing but strength and truth left to witness. Hanchard’s ability to attack the personality of Booth is invigorating, he simply floats from emotion to emotion without the slightest transitional flaw. The determination and passion he emulates is clearly visible, showing the moments of personal doubt that ultimately grows into a powerful triumph over his weaker self. Williams similarly has conquered his character, his portrayal of a man broken by what once made him creates sympathy and an irrational need to see him once again succeed. Together they are a force to be reckoned with.

The production was simple, but beautiful none the less. The apartment was an artistic representation of the sparse squalor it aspired to be. This is specifically seen in the floor as it broke into little pieces around the edges, it was almost a representation of the disintegration taking place on stage, transitioning slowly and occurring abruptly. Similarly, the lighting too achieved this effect through its smooth and unanticipated transitions, framing the moments exactly as intended to be. Regrettably, the production lost some value in the lack of music implemented, which other than the song of Lincoln, was absent.

Lori Park’s has written beauty, power and the truth of a man undone, her talent for understanding and emulating that which she intends has effectively been achieved in her script. The long awaited moments of strength and clarity were intense and certainly worth experiencing. In the path of self discovery, one often takes many wrong and twisted turns, it is worthwhile to take a turn into Obsidian Theatre where Topdog/Underdog will be playing now through December 4th.

Almost Better Than Winning Bingo!

How can you not fall in love with a play that gives you an opportunity to win fifty thousand dollars? In this case, a twenty dollar gift card shall suffice. I must give credit to producer Tomson Highway and director Ken Gass for delivering a high tempo, enthusiastic, and comic-tragic piece. The Rez Sisters is a story which takes place On a Manitoulin Island reserve, where seven women dream of attending the “biggest Bingo in the World” in Toronto. As the raucous women envision it with mounting excitement and a feverish gleam in their dark eyes, hitting the $500,000 jackpot is how they’ll change their hardscrabble existence on their reserve in Ontario. “When I win” is how they begin their wishful sentences. No one says, “If I win.” Meanwhile, accompanying them on their journey is an agile trickster and spirit guide Nanabush, who appears in the shape of a bird and is invisible to everyone but Zhaboonigan Peterson and Marie – Adele.

You don’t need a crystal ball to predict the outcome of Mr. Highway’s play, which opened in November 5^th 2011 at the Factory Theatre. For all their gumption, his characters are up against hopeless odds, in society as well as the bingo hall. Highway also sheds light on abuse, loneliness, and unrealized dreams, although sometimes the characters lack depth, defined only by gastrointestinal problems or a taste for country music.

With a cast of seven, Mr. Highway definitely had his hands full in providing each character with attributes and characteristics that would make them distinct and memorable. Marie-Adele Starblanket, has 14 children and is dying of cancer. Emily Dictionary, a barely reformed hellion with a tattoo on her shoulder, lost the love of her life, a woman, in a motorcycle accident. That indefatigable busybody Veronique St. Pierre has two equal sources of distress: a mentally deficient adopted daughter Zhaboonigan Peterson and an erratic addiction for stoves. The garish Annie Cook who sees herself as a country-rock star, the loquacious Philomena Moosetail with her dyed and painted head bursting with gossip and visions of a new toilet she plans to purchase with her lucre from the bingo tables, and lastly, the straight headed repairman and  leader of the pack known as Pelajia Patchnose.

Aside from the masterful art that enriched the set, every character consisted of a unique and distinctive role that not only stood out but supported one another. Every character demonstrated versatility in multiple areas such as speech, expression, body language, and vocals. The lightening designer should not be discredited for his contribution to the play because of his responsibility for affects and intense dramatical support he created for the characters.

The Rez Sisters is lauded for its realistic portrayal of these distinct personalities. On a larger scale, Highway should be hailed for creating a work that made Native North American life accessible as well as entertaining to a wide audience.

The Rez Sisters runs at Toronto’s Factory Theatre until Dec. 11.