Toronto Online Review: UnGala Possibility From the Future
Dave Rabjohn, Associate Toronto Critic
The phrase “these are strange times” is getting a little tiresome, but a project from Tarragon Theatre this weekend alternatively reminds us that difficulties can inspire unique and powerful creativity. To replace their scrubbed annual gala, seventeen resident playwrights were challenged to create and perform five minute playlets based on the theme of possibility and hope for a post covid world. Hosted by artistic director Richard Rose, the pieces were packaged into three forty minute segments that complied with Tarragon’s mantra as “Canada’s home for groundbreaking contemporary theatre.” These gems will most surely become the seeds for more fulsome productions in the, hopefully, near future.
After getting past the aching need to read book titles in the homes of strangers, one recognizes not just the quality of writing, but also the strength of the performances. Can playwrights also act? Insert Shakespeare and Sam Shepard. Without the benefit of stage and props, lighting or fellow actors each playwright delivered a compelling performance that only enhanced the material. Highlights include Rosa Laborde reading “Bird Feeder” where she begins with feigned cheer which quickly descends into frustration and anger. In “Hope” Hannah Moscovitch sounds tired – her calm disposition belies the dark themes of misogyny, racism, and bullying – her reticence heightens the agony. Kat Sandler’s eyebrows almost scream sarcasm as her face contorts wildly with frustration in “Poppy.” Chelsea Wooley demonstrates the spectrum of excitability as her monologue “No Special Day – Nowhere Special” thrills through a fantasy and then sinks back to reality.
The great variety of structure engaged by the playwrights adds further depth to this tapestry. Rosa Laborde incorporates the style of the audience hearing only one side of a conversation – made Bob Newhart famous. Andrew Kushnir in “The Trust Hall” reads character names, stage directions and dialogue which enhances his play within a play theme. In “The Family Room” Daniel MacIvor employs stream of consciousness as he races through his confessional poetry. This diverse range of structure keeps the audience engaged.
While the themes vary greatly from piece to piece, some threads do emerge. Theatre as a metaphor for the ills of isolation was described by Marcus Youssef as he explains that theatre is a natural gathering place – David Young suggests that theatre itself is a controlled form of perception. Family joy and family anxiety are naturally enhanced by cataclysm – Rosa Laborde describes how marital difficulties are inflamed by covid. In “The Family Room” Daniel MacIvor expresses how family is “not easy.” Jeff Ho balances the negativity in his brilliant “Pearls and Pigs” as he demonstrates his pain of seeing his new born niece only as “pixels.” His joy of finally holding her is a triumph over his seething anger with anti-Chinese racism – you can almost hear Trump barking out “Chynaa!”
The spectrum from bottomed out misery to joyful hilarity courses through all the new normal topics: intimacy with social distancing, digital meetings, delivery protocol antics that would make Jeff Bezos gulp, awkwardness with zoom. This brings us to the final piece “Looking Back (Looking Forward)” by Eva Barrie which could be considered the anchor of the weekend. Ms. Barrie hosts an actual zoom meeting with non-actors who look nonplussed but who eventually come around. The usual zoom farce is fully on display – bad lighting, bad angles, awkward silences, difficulties with mute buttons. Ms. Barrie runs the meeting with bubbly humour and rolls through her memories of isolation that she brilliantly calls the “fallow period.” Bad breadmaking, bad haircuts, bad clothes. Mood changes when she provokes participation from the group who slowly awaken and then hilarity ensues with memories of pantless zoom meetings and introspection over how you would thank those who helped you through the “fallow.”
It is with gratitude that this reviewer recalls a weekend of fervent theatre from an industry that is struggling financially but certainly not creatively. Final comment: Donate if you can.
‘Possibility from the Future’ Tarragon Theatre – Toronto – May 23 and 24, 2020.
Artistic Director and host – Richard Rose
Playwrights: Rosa Laborde, Audrey Dwyer, David MacIvor, Hannah Moscovitch, Maria Milisavljevic, Sean Dixon, Chloe Hung, David Young, Kat Sandler, Christine Quintana, Marcus Youssef, Andrew Kushnir, Chelsea Woolley, Kenneth T. Williams, Jeff Ho, Andrea Scott, Eva Barrie.