With more than 40 dramatic works being presented, it’s going to be tough for even the most dedicated theatregoer to make a dent in SummerWorks’ expansive slate of offerings. Our critics have compiled the 10 best shows from the fest’s first week to help you make the most of the remaining run.
When It Rains
Grid Rating: 10/10
Starring Marc Bendavid, Francine Deschepper, Conor Green, Samantha Wilson. Written and directed by Anthony Black. Factory Theatre, until Aug. 19.
Some spend their lives consistently analyzing the meaning of human life. Others strictly see people and events in black and white–or in the case of When It Rains, in two dimensions. It is a story about four people: Allan, his wife, Sybil, his sister Anna, and her husband, Louis. Their differing views on life, luck, and love rise to the surface as Anna and Louis face a separation, and Allan and Sybil suffer a much more devastating tragedy. The graphic novel–style production, with sets, props, and sometimes even narration provided by Nick Bottomley’s projections, is inspired, injecting the simple story with a little fantasy and humour. A must-see from Halifax’s 2b Theatre Company.—Carly Maga
Facts
Grid Rating: 9/10
Starring Richard Greenblatt, Sam Kalilieh, Alex Poch-Goldin. Written and directed by Arthur Milner. Factory Theatre, to Aug. 18.
In writer-director Arthur Milner’s West Bank whodunit, an Israeli homicide detective (Richard Greenblatt) teams up with his Palestinian counterpart (Sam Kalilieh) to solve the murder of a controversial U.S. archeologist. But how do they stick to the facts when the prime suspect is a defiant Zionist settler (Alex Poch-Goldin) that the Jewish cop, a liberal atheist, hates even more than his Arab colleague? Milner’s play cleverly uses the police procedural as a pretext for an ugly confrontation between religion and ideology. Kalilieh, reprising the role he originated in the play’s Ottawa premiere, is joined by a funny-scary Greenblatt and a steely Poch-Goldin. Together, the three fiery actors send the Factory Theatre stage soaring to desert temperatures.—Martin Morrow
HUFF
Grid Rating: 9/10
Written and performed by Cliff Cardinal. Directed by Karin Randoja. The Theatre Centre, to Aug. 19.
Cliff Cardinal’s bio in HUFF’s program is short. In fact, it says that he’s written Stitch, and nothing else. What it doesn’t mention is that Stitch, starring Cara Gee as a single mother/porn star, was one of last year’s biggest SummerWorks hits. What HUFF proves is that Cardinal’s knack for brutally dark comedy wasn’t a fluke. This time, Cardinal takes the stage himself to tell a deeply disturbing story about growing up on a native reserve and falling victim time and time again to “Trickster.” Cardinal’s transitions between the many characters could be sharper for clarity’s sake, but HUFF delivers a beginning and an ending (involving some great design by Elizabeth Kantor) that will blow you away.—C.M.
Iceland
Grid Rating: 9/10
Starring Christine Horne, Claire Calnan, Kawa Ada. Written by Nicolas Billon. Directed by Ravi Jain. Lower Ossington Theatre, to Aug. 19.
It’s hard to put a face on the economic crisis, but Iceland gives us three—a twentysomething student-turned-escort from Estonia (Christine Horne), a condo-flipper and capital “C” capitalist (Kawa Ada), and a conservative, extremely pious Liberty Village renter (Claire Calnan). Playwright Nicolas Billon (Greenland, The Elephant Song) brings this unlikely trio together with a series of intricately detailed monologues that are captivatingly delivered by the cast, seated on a dark stage in a brooding atmosphere. Ugly and tragic though they are, the characters and their stories are impossible to ignore because we know that a little compassion or self-sacrifice could have changed everything—much like the crisis itself.—C.M.
Terminus
Grid Rating: 9/10
Starring Maev Beaty, Ava Jane Markus, Adam Wilson. Written by Mark O’Rowe. Directed by Mitchell Cushman. Factory Theatre, to Aug. 19.
If you like your tales of the grotesque with an Irish lilt, look no further than this trio of creepy comic monologues by Dublin writer Mark O’Rowe. In one, a good samaritan (Maev Beaty) finds herself battling a posse of vicious lesbians; in another, a young woman (Ava Jane Markus) is rescued from death by a worm-encrusted demon; and in the third, a shy man (Adam Wilson) sells his soul to attain a peerless singing voice. All three stories, entwining like the demon’s writhing worms, turn out to be connected. All three are also spoken in infectious rhyming verse. Mitchell Cushman’s riveting production seats the audience onstage, just a few spittle-flecked feet from the actors.—M.M.
Terre Haute
Grid Rating: 9/10
Starring Terrence Bryant, Todd Michael Sandomirsky. Written by Edmund White. Directed by Alistair Newton. Lower Ossington Theatre, to Aug. 18.
The late Gore Vidal was a lifelong shit-disturber, but he saved one of his most outrageous coups for his twilight years—arguing on behalf of the Oklahoma City Bomber. While Vidal didn’t condone Timothy McVeigh’s horrific act, he did believe the terrorist’s grievances against the U.S. government should be taken seriously. Edmund White’s lightly fictionalized 2006 play convincingly explores Vidal’s complex attraction to McVeigh as the pair meet for a series of Death Row interviews. Ecce Homo’s quietly intense production, cannily directed by Alistair Newton, boasts a strong performance by Todd Michael Sandomirsky as the unrepentant young bomber and an outstanding one from Terrence Bryant as the elderly patrician writer, whose biting wit fails to hide a profound sadness.—M.M.
Extinction Song
Grid Rating: 8/10
Starring Ron Pederson. Written and directed by Ron Jenkins. Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace, to Aug. 19.
In Extinction Song, we enter the bedroom of seven-year-old James, which looks like most except for a wolf-themed bedspread of which any hipster would approve. For the next 75 minutes, James (Ron Pederson) launches into a rapid-fire account of his desire to rejoin his adopted wolf pack in Dreamland, and abandon his unhappy real-world life with his alcoholic father. Ron Jenkins’s script stays evenly balanced between sweet and bitter and thankfully avoids a predictable happy ending. Pederson is a perfect match for James, with the energy and bounce to pull off the stream-of-consciousness of a child but the maturity to make his father, Mountie Man, a terror.—C.M.
My Pregnant Brother
Grid Rating: 8/10
Written and performed by Johanna Nutter. Directed by Jeremy Taylor. Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, to Aug. 19.
Behind its freak-show title, Montreal actor-playwright Johanna Nutter’s one-woman show is a tender, funny tale of making peace with your kin. When Nutter’s troubled transgender brother, who retained his female reproductive system, accidentally gets pregnant and decides to give birth, she finds herself reluctantly yanked back into his life. Drawing with chalk on the stage floor and welcoming the audience with a wide, warm smile, Nutter exudes a likable girlishness. It belies her lifetime role as the only responsible adult in a family beset with mental illness as well as gender confusion. Nutter has performed this show countless times since its 2009 debut, but to her credit it still feels fresh and genuinely intimate.—M.M.
France or, the Niqab
Grid Rating: 8/10
Starring Salvatore Antonio, Charlotte Gowdy, Beatriz Yuste. Written by Sean Dixon. Directed by Tanja Jacobs. Theatre Passe Muraille, until Aug. 19.
When Samira gets an outrageous ticket for wearing her niqab in public in France, she visits a lawyer, Tabatha. Samira assumes the lawyer is a man; Tabatha thinks Samira isn’t allowed to speak. But in a Freaky Friday-like decision, Tabatha decides to wear Samira’s traditional clothing for a day, discovering a common ground. France or, The Niqab is a fun bit of girl power, with clever writing from non-girl Sean Dixon and direction from Tanja Jacobs. Inspired by Tabatha Southey’s column “Minister Kenney, can I become a citizen in these shoes?,” the script pulls direct quotes to send its message home in between rom-com jokes, misunderstandings, and, yes, even a dance sequence.—C.M.
I, Animal
Grid Rating: 7/10
Starring Antonio Cayonne, Stewart Legere, Kathryn MacLellan. Written by Daniel MacIvor. Directed by Richie Wilcox. Factory Theatre, to Aug. 19.
A frisky dog, a dead cat, and a young girl’s palomino figure tangentially in Daniel MacIvor’s latest monologue triptych, but the human animal is his real concern. His three homo sapiens here include a queer nurse (Antonio Cayonne), a teenage photographer (Stewart Legere), and a wealthy middle-aged woman (Kathryn MacLellan)—each entangled in an identity crisis and trying to grope their way through it. Their soliloquies contain MacIvor’s signature blend of empathy and absurdity. This production is well-acted and creatively staged, although Legere is a bit too old for the teen role and MacLellan can’t overcome the fact that her monologue is the most conventional of the three.—M.M.
