A Week of Edmonton Theatre - Three Terrific New Works! Anahita's Republic (Autash), Subscribe and Like (WWPT) and Listen, Listen (Teatro Live!)

I've just come home from seeing the third of three new works on Edmonton stages this week! There's nothing my theatre heart loves more than new Canadian works and all three were also written by Albertan playwrights, so that's even better! There was also a great deal of variety in the pieces so it was a but of a rollercoaster of theatrical offerings!

Anahita's Republic by Hengameh E. Rice (Autash Productions)

Now running at the Backstage Theatre (Fringe Theatre Adventures), Anahita's Republic is a play I have been long invested in. It's set in Iran, in a compound where the strong willed and sharply intelligent Anahita (Roya Yazdanmehr) is able to live her life the way she wants to. She's safe to reject the hijab and run the family business, using her brother Cyrus (Yassine El Fassi El Fihri) as her public face. All the while she works to challenge the regime and gain freedoms for women. The play shines a light on a part of the world we may speculate about but not really know. Yazdanmehr gives a passionate and invested performance, and when it looks like she may lose control of her carefully curated world, you can hear the desperation in her anguished pleas. Anahita's Republic is a play that makes you think when you both watch it and in the days that follow seeing it. It makes you think about what you have and what you might do if it were taken away from you. It also makes you reflect on what it might be like to live in a world where all you want is to have the same things that your brother has - the things he takes for granted and even casually rejects - but you can't have them because you are a woman. The cast is rounded out by Omid (Jennie George), a young women whose arrival upsets the balance of Anahita's life, and Omid's father Masood (played wonderfully by Michael Peng) who further complicates the situation with wants of his own. The show is nicely paced and the stakes stack up imperceptibly until things reach a breaking point. It's a tight 90 minute show directed with subtlety by Brian Dooley. 

Anahita's Republic runs to June 4th at the Backstage Theatre.
Tickets are $44 but there are Pay-What-You-Can tickets available for every show. You can buy your tickets here. 

Subscribe or Like by Liam Salmon (Workshop West Playwrights' Theatre)

So... this was an unexpected show for me. I knew it likely had something to do with social media, because of the title, and I speculated there was a romantic/relationship angle because of the casting and the images I had seen online prior to seeing the show, but that's about all I knew going in. It was both funny and sad. It was also terrifying and inevitable. It's a memory play about Rachel and Miles who start a YouTube channel and travel down the path of needing the likes and views and subscribers to validate what they are doing. Their need to generate those reactions becomes obsessive for one of them, and ultimately destructive for the relationship. This show had me unable to look away even though part of my brain was saying I can't watch. Gabby Bernard and Geoffrey Simon Brown have real onstage chemistry that makes you believe why they are together as well as why they pull apart from each other. He is puppy-dog-like, which is adorable, but hey, he also eats your shoes. She is thoughtful and deep and caring, but over-invested and drained, and it's hard to be the not-fun one. It's a complicated interplay, but believable. 

As someone who spends a lot of time on social media, I totally got this show. I have over the last few years reevaluated my online role and needs. I know what it is like to track your likes and views so I understand the obsession. After seeing the show, my friends and I spent a half hour discussing it and how we related and I have come back to it several times today. I imagine it will haunt me for a little while longer. It's completely relevant in our world today and as a cautionary tale, it suggests that even if you aren't thinking about the impacts of social media on our psyches, you probably should be. 

Subscribe or Like runs to June 11th at the Geateway Theatre. 
Tickets are $27 - $43. Tuesdays are 2-for-1 at the Door. 
You can Purchase your tickets here. 

Listen, Listen by Elyne Quan (Teatro Live!)

It was so much fun to laugh at this show tonight! The premise was simple, but what started out a something simple (a customer's request) snowballs quickly into the world of the absurd. Led onstage by the physically elastic Farren Timoteo, the cast of four (Nadien Chu, Alexander Ariate and Nikki Hulowski) are delightful to watch. I think they were having as much fun as we were in the audience!

It's quick paced (kudos to director Belinda Cornish) and moves so smoothly that I was surprised that the first act was an hour. It literally flew by! The soundtrack is terrific (I would like a mixed tape of it, please!) and the music, costumes (Leona Brausen) and set (Chantel Fortin)  transported me and everyone else to the 80s (the best decade) for a super silly story pitting customer against service worker! It's a show that you can't help but enjoy and laugh at. Everyone onstage is excellent. As to Timoteo, my companion for the evening speculated the role was written for him as his physical comedy was perfection. The rest of the cast all have their moments too - Chu's slow-motion fight scene is hilarious; Ariate's three wildly different characters have their moments; and Hulowski not only plays the smartest cute girl at the mall food court, but she also channels the entire secretarial pool from the movie Working Girl (sorry, Executive Assistants). So much fun and absolutely perfect for a summer evening! 

Listen, Listen runs until June 11th at the Varscona Theatre. 
Tickets are $30 - $42. Tuesdays are Pay-What-You-Can at the door. 
You can purchase your tickets here. 

First Time, Last Time - Redefining a relationship by refusing to define it...

This past weekend, I took in First Time Last Time by Scott Sharplin at Shadow Theatre with my good friend @catharooni.  We had a lovely evening in the Strathcona area, starting it at The Next Act for dinner and then taking in the show down the street.  I used to be in the area so much more than I am lately, so there is always a wonderful feeling when I have a good reason to go there!

The play is about two people who meet each other in the familiar pick-up place of a nightclub and both being inexperienced sexually (but wanting not to be), they decide to hook up as long as the first time is the last time.  The two, Ben (Mat Busby) and Airlea (Madeleine Suddaby), are very different in personality and type, but find themselves compatible and they find a unique way to modify the initial verbal contract so that the non-relationship extends into years.  It's a very funny exploration of how far a couple might go to construct a non-relationship out of what is clearly a relationship.  It seems to primarily be Airlea who is over-reluctant to define the nature of what they live-in. The situations and responses are humorous, complete with changing wigs and outfits and 'new first times' as time passes. I found the two actors to be quite engaging onstage and they seemed to have a real rapport. Busby is quite charming and Suddaby is a bubbly ball of energy that draws you in. And, although I found it hard to believe that a couple could stretch the contract so long, it was interesting. It made me think a lot of friends that I have who insist on bizarrely labeling their own relationships unconventional in reaction to some societal 'norm'.  I have to admit, I do a bit of internal eye-rolling when labels are just exchanged for other labels when all it comes right down to is that the only person who cares about how you define the relationship is the one you are in it with. I wish I understood more about why the two of them push against commitment, particularly Airlea, because I think Ben does want the relationship.

Overall though, the play makes for a fun night out at the theatre.  It gets a little serious towards the end but in a heart-touching way, and there is some wonderful theatre magic when the audience gets to participate.  The framework of the piece contains some direct audience address, which bothered me until the audience pull-in made me forgive it.  It takes a while, but it does earn it in that magical moment towards the end. I recommend this show, for there is a lot to think about, and it's a lot of fun.  It might make you understand why someone didn't commit to you, or why you are with the one you are with. And while I don't recommend this kind of contract, there is something to be said for avoiding a routine in a relationship... a few 'firsts' when things get stagnant are never a bad idea!

First Time Last Time runs at the Varscona Theatre until March 29th.

Marathon - Three Days/Three Plays!

May is a great month for theatre in Edmonton!  The only challenge is getting to everything.  There's simply so much on the docket!

Thursday I started my theatre binge with Kill Your Television's production of The Crackwalker by Judith Thompson.  There are some shows I go to to just have fun and there are some shows I go to for a challenge. This was definitely one of those that challenged me.  The Crackwalker is a dark gritty piece about people on the fringes of society - the outcasts, the working poor, the uneducated, the addicted, the discarded.  It's a harsh look at a world that few of us even come close to seeing.  I'd read the play several years ago and even on the page it's a challenge. It's one of those pieces that is like watching a train wreck... you know that things are bad and going to get worse and all you can do is sit and watch and see it unfold before you.  The inevitability of it is frightening. This is a script, however, that answers no questions and provides no comfort.  That is hard to take and as I sought a message to take away I found I couldn't find one that made me particularly happy. 

On Friday night, I forgot I was old, and went to the Booty Call (11:30 p.m.) presentation of Contractions presented by Northern Light Theatre. It was a very interesting piece about corporate culture delivered with a fascinating contrast by Linda Grass and Nimet Kanji. Grass is delightfully robotic and Nimet as puzzled and disturbed as we are by the situation. The chemistry between the two women was excellent.  It felt very relevant as our culture is very focused on success in work and the idea of balance of personal life with work life.  At what length will you go to succeed professionally and what how much does your work value you as a person?  Very fascinating. I did wish that I had chosen to go to an earlier performance as I learned that staying up late is no longer something I do particularly well.  I wish I could, but truth be told, I had to stop seeing late shows at the Fringe a few years ago because I discovered I just couldn't do it.

Saturday I had a much more cheery outing with the Mayfield Dinner Theatre's presentation of Hairspray.  It was so much fun!  We saw Hairspray a few years ago when it toured through, and although I enjoyed it at the time, I preferred this one.  This production, directed by Tracey Flye, was engaging and fast-paced and had an intimacy that was really fresh.  The whole show is well sung with snappy dances and a sense of fun that bubbles up.  There were several outstanding performances that I want to mention: Stephanie Pitsiladis as Tracy Turnblad anchors the piece with powerhouse vocals and acting chops to match.  Though tiny, she is never small onstage.  Melanie Piatocha as Tracy's best friend Penny is also a delight.  She is terrifically funny and having seen her before in ingenue roles I was blown away by her comedic skills. Her romantic counterpart Seaweed, played by J. Cameron Barnett, is also a treat.  His voice is chocolaty smooth and his approach to Seaweed is sharp and fresh.  He owns it and the already high energy show jumps up whenever he's onstage. And I must give props to Aurianna Angelique as Motormouth Maybelle.  Her performance of I Know Where I've Been (along with the ensemble) literally brought tears to my eyes.  All in all the show was terrific.   It's a sure-fire fun night with a show that has some pretty important messaging about acceptance, but which never lectures!

The first two shows are now closed so you unfortunately can't catch them, however, Hairspray runs until June 15th so you can still make that one.

* I forgot to mention that I was lucky enough to attend all three with the lovely Catherine.  Truly a great theatre companion.  Mark also joined us for Hairspray and we had the pleasure of Trevor's company for The Crackwalker.  It is so wonderful to be able to share these theatre experiences with great people!

Go East! Go to Punctuate Theatre's East of Berlin for an Incredible Theatre Experience...

Last night I took in East of Berlin by Hannah Moscovitch at C103 presented by Punctuate Theatre and East/West Collective. It was simply terrific.  It's hard to say anything but that.  It was one of the best shows I have seen this season, and I have seen a lot of shows and a lot of good shows. It's described as a dark comedy and it is that, though I would rather say I was a dark portrait of life which at times makes you laugh and at times makes you gasp and at times makes you sad (whether you cry or not will depend on you - but I heard plenty of sniffles).

The play focuses on the legacy of the Holocaust on the children of those involved. The main character is Rudi (Jamie Cavanagh) the son of a Nazi war criminal who grows up in Paraguay. After finding out disturbing details about his father's activities during the war from a friend, Herman (Mathew Hulshof), he eventually travels to Berlin and meets Sarah (Andréa Jorawsky) the daughter of an Auschwitz survivor. What happens is wonderful, joyful and inevitably doomed.

Cavanagh is electric.  He has a natural charisma that is near impossible to be immune to.  We go through his journey of discovery along with him.  He brings us in.  Rudi spends a great deal of time talking directly to the audience, and as one of my friends said afterward, it was as though he was speaking directly to each and everyone of us.  You truly feel that this was his story. Hulshof and Jorawsky are equal to the task of being a part of this story.  This is an ensemble with no weaknesses.  You believe them.  A friend of mine, who saw the show the night before, told me, "I didn't want it to end." But of course, it had to.

Directed by Simon Bloom, this piece is perfectly paced and staged. It has an emotional resonance in all the right places and taps into everyday humour and a kind of irreverence to soften the underlying horror that comes with anything that deals with the holocaust.  Under Bloom's guidance, the three actors achieve a sense of real that is mesmerizing.  The set (Nicholas Blais), with it's multitude of scorched and dirtied file cabinets is a monument to both the bureaucracy and record-keeping of the Nazis and the hidden dirty secrets of generations before us.

After the show, I spent a good deal of time talking about it with my friends.  This is the kind of show that stays with you.  I woke up this morning thinking about it.  There are four more performances - one tonight, 2 on Sunday, and one on Monday evening.  I strongly encourage you to go to it. 

3 Nights - 3 Shows - Is this a great city for Theatre, or What??!?

I had a great, but crazy week.  The front half was leading up to Opening Night of Mary Poppins.  The week prior to Opening is the busiest in my calendar so it was kind of nice to actually be able to catch the show.  I usually don't as I am a little brain fried, but I think I am getting the hang of it because I felt up to going.  I took Gibson, because it is the kind of show you want to see with a kid. It was fabulous!  I was way up in the back and the sound was crystal clear and the show itself read wonderfully.  I think this is the kind of show that works well from anywhere in the house, but particularly so from a little further back because the dance numbers are so grand. I particularly loved SUPERCALIFRAGILISTIC... and Step in Time, but really the whole show is so much fun.  It was wonderful seeing some of my favorites like Susan Gilmour, Kate Ryan and Kendra Connor along with new favorites Blythe Wilson, and Andrew MacDonald-Smith.  The whole cast is a wonderful ensemble and as the piece has a lot of moving parts they seem to work as one being to make it be magical.  It was also kind of cool to hear Gibson singing songs from the show the next morning at breakfast.

Friday I took in something very different.  I have a great husband who is the kind of guy that will say, "Isn't there a show you wanted to go to? Go!" So I headed out to Theatre Network for Little One.  It's a 180 degree turn from Poppins, the story of two adopted siblings who have very different beginnings resulting in very different beginnings.  It's a tangled story of guilt and tragedy.  It also speaks to love not always being enough to heal the wounds from an early traumatic childhood.  A script that leaves us with questions, not necessarily a bad thing, but not necessarily satisfying.  I think it was supposed to stir up stuff. Jesse Gervais, as the normal, good child, is particularly good in the present looking back.  Amber Borotsik is chilling in both present and past.  You can see why this girl grew into this woman. I was reminded of my grandfather telling me once about neighbours who had fostered children over the years and about one boy that they tried hard to help, but that there was something unfixable about him, no matter what they did.  I can't remember what happened to that boy, but I can't imagine it was good. Another thing that struck me was how much responsibility was placed on and felt by the older adopted sibling.  It was a terrible responsibility.  Something that he shouldn't have had to bear.

Finally, Saturday night, I took in the U of A Drama 457 final project, Welcome to Thebes in the Second Playing Space.  A modernized retelling of Greek myths weaving elements from Antigone, Lysistrata and Hippolytus but also commenting on current global situations.  It was cool to see several of my past classmates onstage telling this story and to see how much they have grown as actors.  Although the first act was a little slow due to the exposition required, it was overall a thought-provoking piece, and the second act moved much more quickly and was more satisfying.  I thought about many things - child soldiers, western-world arrogance, economics vs. empathy.  Replace Athens with the U.S. and Sparta with Russia and you have the situation in Syria.  So, despite being rooted in Greek mythology, it was actually very current, making me think more about what it takes to rebuild a country after war.  We are spoiled in our safe little Canadian cities.

Above all, the three shows in three days made me once again think about the depth of the theatre offered within our city.  These were just a few of the shows I could have seen, as there are also shows on at Shadow Theatre (Queen Lear) and Mayfield Dinner Theatre (Death Trap).  The key is having time to go and see them!

Starting My Theatre Year Off with Mack & Mabel and the Plain Janes...

This past Saturday I met up with my good friend Catherine (@catherooni) for some poutine at The Next Act and my first theatre outing of the new year.   It was a great start - good company, great food and a very entertaining production. Mack and Mabel is the musical tale of the ill-fated romance between Hollywood director, Mack Sennett and waitress turned starlet, Mabel Normand. Set in the roaring 20’s when silent film was the rage and pratfalls and pies throwing were a plenty it follows their relationship in movie-making and their own kind of romance.  It also kicked off the Plain Jane's Concert series.  Directed by Kate Ryan with a tight cast of 7 with scripts in hand and a slightly streamlined version of the musical, we watched the story unfold with judicious use of blocking and song and the occasional dance.  Patricia Zentilli was simply wonderful as Mabel Normand.  Her voice soars and her portrayal of Mabel was both comical and heart-breaking.  I haven't ever seen her onstage before, but after this I will keep my eye out for her, as she was delightful to watch.  Her counter-part, Mack Sennett, was played by Jeff Haslam who seemed born to play the blustering non-romantic with the big ideas and the eye for what makes people laugh.  Haslam brought heart to the bigger than life character and his version of ‘I Won’t Send Roses’  was quite lovely. The cast was a nice tight ensemble and they treated us to a rousing tap number that was clean and sharp and just right!  It was a great start and I look forward to what this company will do next!