Review: The Little Years

Bethany Jillard and Chick Reid (photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann)

The Curse of Passing Time
by Beat Rice

The current version of The Little Years was commissioned by the Stratford Shakespeare Festival last year where it was part of their season in the studio theatre. The production now has a new life at the Tarragon with recreated designs and some different casting. It shows us the beautiful and malicious ways people can affect others unintentionally. 

We are introduced to young Kate, played by Bethany Jilliard, at the beginning of the play. We meet a bright, curious pre-teen with questions and ideas about time, space, and physics, as big as the universe.  We instantly have high hopes for her, but unfortunately her ideas are deemed unacceptable and foolish for a young girl in the 50’s. Her mother, played by Chick Reid, discourages her from even talking of such subjects, and instead encourages her to go out, be social, and meet boys. She decides to place her daughter out of regular school and place her in vocational school, a move that alters the fate of Kate drastically. Irene Poole plays adult Kate, who grows up to be a bitter young adult who constantly has to hear about how well her brother William is doing in life. William is an invisible but ever-present character in the play. His wife Grace, played by Pamela Sinha, gives Kate love and support to try to pull her out of her negativity. She never gives up, even as Kate descends into a darker place as she approaches mature adulthood. 

Review: Miss Caledonia

(photo credit: Nir Bareket)

Beyond Honey Boo-Boo
by Beat Rice

It’s not a new story but I always love to hear that a SummerWorks show has continued to have a life after the festival. Melody A. Johnson’s play Miss Caledonia was performed at the 2010 SummerWorks Theatre Festival and is being presented at the Tarragon Theatre in association with Lunkamud. Johnson’s play, where she is the sole actor accompanied by a fiddler, is based on the experiences and memories of her mother, Peggy Ann Douglas. Miss Caledonia is the portrait of a young girl in the 50s with big dreams of leaving farm chores in rural Ontario for stardom in Hollywood. To achieve her dream, Peggy sets her sights on winning as many pageants as possible, starting with the smaller ones and moving up along the way. Johnson plays many characters in Peggy’s life on a stage with nothing but a wood bench in the centre, all the while appropriately dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans. 

Review: No Great Mischief

David Fox (photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann)

The Recollected Family

by Christian Baines

Adapted from Alistair MacLeod’s award winning novel of the same name, No Great Mischief follows Alexander MacDonald (R. H. Thomson) in his attempts to reconnect with his family’s past, his brother Calum (David Fox) and the many tragedies and trials that have befallen both. Distinctively Canadian and occasionally compelling, it’s an unapologetically anecdotal story, ultimately not much more than a series of clips and memories from Alexander’s life.

The first trial, however, is for the audience – a marathon slog of exposition that, while possibly immersive on the written page, makes for a pretty tedious opening to a two hours plus play. The audience’s second great challenge is making sense of Calum. This is no shame to Fox, whose detailed embodiment of the character is unquestionable. With a burdened past and a battered liver, Calum’s life has been one of hard knocks, but his quasi-reflective ramblings only serve to make the play more impenetrable, right when it’s crying out for a reprieve from Alexander’s dense narration. 

Review: Was Spring

Caroline Gillis, Clare Coulter, Jessica Moss (photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann)

Poetry, laughter and less

MacIvor's new play doesn't impress

by Beat Rice

It is always interesting to see how a playwright stages one’s own work. Daniel MacIvor directs his own play, Was Spring, at the Tarragon. 

The set, designed and lit by Kimberly Purtell, is a simple small open space with three chairs onstage. The most interesting visual is the tall reflective black wall that is also slightly transparent. It is an apt representation of what the women are going through. The three women attempt to come to terms with a life-changing event of their past. It’s an emotionally complex play that deals with how one views life, and how we approach death. The text is extremely poetic and there are some funny moments. 

Review: The Small Room At The Top of The Stairs

Nicole Underhay (photo credit: Cylla von Tiedemann)

The Killing Curiosity

Tarragon presents a GG winner's spook-fest

by Beat Rice

I can’t remember the last time I felt spooked when I was watching a play. Carole Fréchette’s play, translated by John Murrell, is one that builds in mystery and tension, until it falls apart near the end. But we will get to that later.

Last night, the English premiere of The Small Room at the Top of the Stairs opened in the Mainspace at the Tarragon Theatre. The brilliant Weyni Mengesha also makes her directing debut at the Tarragon. Collaborating with designer Astrid Jansen, the set is in one corner of the room with the audience in an ‘L’ shape. The set is minimalistic, but with Bonnie Beecher’s lighting, we see hallways, a narrow staircase, and a dark room. The staging is simple yet highly effective. Mengesha uses the space in a way that allows our imaginations to put things in place. Thomas Ryder Payne’s eerie sound design creates a horror movie like feel.