Review: Petrichor (SummerWorks)

(photo credit: Richard Penner)

“That bitter-sweet smell, after the rain… there has to be a word for that.” 

by Dave Ross

Petrichor opened last night at the Factory Theatre Mainspace. It is described as “a story of work and land, home and loss and how you can find love hoeing a row of tomatoes.” The story, written by Erin Brandenburg with songs and music by Henry Adam Svec and Andrew Penner, is so beautiful, so touching, and so real. My companion walked out of the theatre and as we waited for the streetcar, he exclaimed to me that while there were flaws in the story he “still LOVED it.” 

Petrichor is a delicately crafted show. The performers create the story while performing the music on hand-crafted “junkstruments,” including a bass drum with saw blades for cymbals, and using a handsaw on an aged piece of timber, amongst others. Monica Cottor, who is also the Movement Director for the show, plays Susan, the female lead. Cottor is also responsible for the choreography in another show I reviewed at SummerWorks, and I was slightly concerned that this show might suffer from the same choreographic pitfalls. Within the first two minutes, my concerns were completely allayed. Cottor has constructed movement that defines new locations in the play, including dramatic farming sequences set to the original music. My only disappointment was that I wanted these sequences to be longer. 

Music plays an enormous role in the performance, with low-level twanging present throughout the show. The soundscape, of farm sounds and crickets in fields has been designed with an expert touch. Petrichor is set in the midst of a three-month drought on a farm, and all of the elements of this show—lighting, music, set design, and performances—transport the audience to that very space, where time seems to stand still as the farmers wait for the rain.

The cast is incredibly strong. Cottor portrays Susan, a shy Mennonite migrant worker who is falling for the boss’s son. Henry, (Henry Adam Svec, also a composer for the show) is the perfect mix of awkward, endearing and persistent in his pursuit of Susan. The rest of the cast performs equally well, each suited to their role, and all equally talented on instruments, both real and junk-inspired. 

Petrichor is one of the few shows I have been to where the theatre melted out of my consciousness, transporting me completely into the story. The story is beautiful, the performers talented, and the overall effect is incredible. This show is bound to be a hit of the festival, and I can’t stop thinking about this production. Get your tickets.

Petrichor is at SummerWorks