Review: Horses at the Window

Carnations and Bad News

by Jasmine Chen

@CHENPINGTING

Horses at the Window, presented by Go Play Producing is an absurdist tragicomedy written by Matei Viniec and translated by Alison Sinclair. Three centuries of war are visited through three relationships: a mother and son, a daughter and father, a wife and husband. In each story the woman is left behind, only to be visited by a mysterious messenger bearing carnations in one hand and bad news in the other. 

This cyclical journey is highlighted by the fact that all three women are played by the same actor (Oyin Oladejo), and the messenger is the same in each vignette (Pooria Fard). The men are represented by puppets, each with varying degrees of effectiveness. Where this production succeeds is in capturing beautiful stage pictures - dead soldiers rising from the earth with sand spilling out of their helmets, concealing their faces; a sea of boots hanging from the ceiling; a mother waiting at the window; a suitcase overflowing with carnations. Where the journey becomes hard to follow is in muddy transitions, excessive lighting changes, and trouble with pacing. With Viniec's tricky script, the actors must walk the line between deeply tragic and absurd. While the messenger scenes were clear in tone and purpose, the preceding woman and man duos faltered. The energy of these scenes either fell flat or remained at a fever pitch throughout.

Interview: Pooria Fard of Horses at the Window

Mother Son Daughter Father Wife Husband

by Christopher Douglas

A recent graduate of Humber College’s Theatre Performance class, Pooria Fard stars in Horses at the Window by Matei Viniec in a translation by Alison Sinclair. In addition to playing the role of the Messenger, he is also a member of Go Team Producing, serving as assistant producers on the show. Having participated in the SummerWorks Leadership Intensive Program with him this summer, I sat down with Pooria and caught up about the upcoming show.

CHARPO: What is the show about?

FARD: The play centres on three relationships: Mother and Son, Daughter and Father and Wife and Husband. In each of these, the amazing Oyin Oladejo plays the woman. And, in each scene, after the men leave for battle, a Messenger arrives with news. 

There is no specific timeline to the play; it’s not about one war or another, though it mentions battles by name but they span history and geography. The play emphasizes the universality of war and the consequences for those left behind but it isn’t about war so much as being about what it is to be left behind when people go to war. It’s about how survivors react to the news that something terrible has happened to someone they care about. For me, playing the Messenger, it’s about the challenge of having to tell each woman in a new way, to let them know without sounding automated or scripted, finding the compassion in a moment that asks for impersonal action and demands strength.