The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs (and the Repudiation and Redemption of Mike Daisey)

GRID RATING: 8/10

Starring David Ferry. Directed by Mitchell Cushman. Various locations, to May 13.

Right now, Mike Daisey may well be the most disliked man in contemporary theatre. Outside the March’s adaptation of Daisey’s hit monologue The Agony and Ecstasy of Steve Jobs attempts to explain why the American monologist chose to embellish details about his investigation into Apple’s unethical working practices in China, even as he claimed that the story was “non-fiction.” Director Mitchell Cushman cements his spot as a promising young director who always creates a full theatrical experience in unexpected venues and, much like Jobs himself, never skimps on the details. He and David Ferry, an appropriate stand-in for Daisey, work as a team to turn the play into a question about whether or not art can ever really be truthful—or even if it should be. They’re clearly on Daisey’s side, using a Toronto theatre blog’s comments and funny impersonations of This American Life’s Ira Glass to make their point. And though Ferry sometimes gets lost in the monstrous text, this show offers an alternate perspective to the hateful response the Daisey Affair has elicited from journalists, one worthy of anyone interested in the scandal.