Raquel Duffy (photo credit: Jason Hudson)
Tickle my Tummy, Toronto
Soulpepper’s Alligator Pie is pure unadulterated joy
Stuart Munro
About five seconds into the opening night of Soulpepper’s new production, Alligator Pie, the audience knew it was in for a treat. One by one, as each member of the five-person Creation Ensemble poked its head through the stage floor, the audience was introduced to five unique personalities. In a manner reminiscent of the “Day by day” sequence in the film version of Godspell, each performer wandered through the piles of miscellany on stage, selecting items best suited to them, before launching into the children’s poems of Dennis Lee, Toronto’s first Poet Laureate. Just as that ancient text used in Godspell has become ubiquitous, these poems are now a part of our national fabric – growing up in BC, I remember grabbing a copy of Alligator Pie during a lunch hour and reciting poems to my classmates who were all eager to hear them again. But even if you’re not familiar with Lee’s work, you’ll find that you recognize yourself and the people you love in his words. There is an undeniable truth to these poems.
