Three Sisters: A black opera in three acts
This little “freakshow on the Prairies”
is less a play than an experience. Housed in the gritty St. B on the same floor
amateur strippers grind for cash, a twisted take on Chekhov’s Three Sisters
gets a fantastic production for horror/comedy fans who’ve gotten off on
Kristine Nutting’s work before. (The original production at the Winnipeg Fringe
in 2005 and PIG in 2009.)
Like the Prozorova sisters in the source
material, the Cuddy sisters desperately want to escape their humdrum lives.
Except they live in Bigger, Saskatchewan, instead of Russia. And their father
is a ballad belting cross-dresser who goes by Mommy-Daddy. And they’re willing
to suck cock to get to Edmonton. And…
Even with the effort of keeping
inventive clowning and self-accompanied songs meaty for 75 minutes in a tough
venue, the cast and director Andraea Sartison rarely let the fun dip down;
scenes in the acoustically challenged far side of the bar and some of the guys’
numbers are the exceptions. Perhaps it has less polish than the original show,
too. But fuck it’s fun. And sibling trio Jacqueline Harding, Dorothy Carroll
and Anna-Laure Koop even manage to keep a fresh, moving heart beating under the
broad brushstrokes of their clown act.
It’s a must see and it closes soon. You
know what to do.
Three Sisters: A black opera in three
acts
By Kristine Nutting
Based on Chekhov’s Three Sisters
Who is John Moe? Productions
Through February 3
Directed by Andraea Sartison; with Dorothy
Carroll, Anna-Laure Koop, Kristian Jordan, Jacqueline Harding, David Arial and
Jeff Strome; musical direction by Suss; stage managed by Gislina Patterson.
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A Marriage Proposal
Merlyn Productions is a fine community
theatre group dedicated to getting non-professional actors into the spotlight
in their spare time. And the two Chekhovian farces (the opening act “A
Tragedian in Spite of Himself” warms up the restored movie theatre venue before
the main piece begins) should be approached with that understanding. Hobby
actors are having a ball onstage, their friends and family in the audience eat
it up, and if they’re not able to fill two classic scenarios – an overworked average
Joe pushed to the breaking point and a marriage proposal gone wrong – with
genuine, non-partisan laughs, well… What did you expect?
A Marriage Proposal
By Anton Chekhov
Merlyn Productions
Through February 1
Directed by John Chase; with Daniel
Gilmour, Nicholas Curry, Brian Dougherty, Kelsey Tuma and Mitch Krohn; set
design by Kevin Hamill; costume design by Jenn Harder; props by Heather Forgie;
stage managed by David King.
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Aristocrats
Black Hole Theatre trades Russia for
Ireland in an ensemble piece that shows off a range of developing talents. The
thematic links between Chekhov and Brian Friel are pretty clear, though the
haunted legacy the impoverished O’Donnells struggle to shake off as they unite
for a wedding has a less universal character. Catholic, patrician, colonized
and darkened by The Troubles, these ruined aristocrats are distinctly Irish in
a play about Ireland. Even as the strong national character of the show adds
unique flavours, it sets the audience at a distance.
The university actors span from those
still figuring out basic movement to a few present, thoughtful, grounded
performers. Monologue work stands out for sheer emotional force: a bit more
nuance to their deliveries and Jeysa Martinez-Pratt (Alice), Brandon Vink
(Eamon) and Sydney Wiede (Judith) could each be holding their own on a
mainstage.
That’s ultimately not enough to hold
attention over a two hour thirty minute show that repeatedly covers the same
material. But it’s worth checking out to see who’s up-and-coming while the
O’Donnells are down-and-outing.
Aristocrats
By Brian Friel
Black Hole Theatre Company
Through February 2
Directed by Bill Kerr; with Brennan
Hakes, Ryan Bjornson, Ian Bastin, Logan Stefanson, Jeysa Martinez-Pratt,
Brandon Vink, Natasha Durand, Sydney Wiede and Graham Atnip; set design by
Garrett Rusnak; light design by Ainza Bellefeuille; sound design by Morin
Daramola; costume design by Karen Schellenberg; assistant directed by Margaret
Fergusson; stage managed by Lauire MacDonell.
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The Bear & Inside the Moscow Art Theatre
First a charming mock “Inside the
Actor’s Studio” interview with Olga Knipper, Chekhov’s wife and company member
of the Moscow Art Theatre. She’s worth a chat: even as she’s part of the upward
trajectory of a new revolutionary form of theatre, she has to observe, first
hand, the fatal decline of her beloved husband. I haven’t made it out to the
panel discussions in this year’s Master Playwright Festival, but here’s a spoonful
of sweetness to help your history lesson go down.
Then the play proper: a short farce on
the meeting of two improbable lovers. That’s not giving anything away – it’s
pretty obvious where this is going. But John Bluethner and Susanna Portnoy are
able to keep the trip fun, mining the stilted, poorly aged script for an
improbable number of laughs. In lesser hands it would be tedious. Here it’s
decent fun.
The Bear & Inside the Moscow Art
Theatre
By Anton Chekhov
At Home Theatre
Through February 2
Directed by John Bluethner; with Susanna
Portnoy, Brian Richardson and John Bluethner.
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Ivanov
Have you ever traveled overseas,
flipped on the TV in your hotel room and tried to follow a local drama? You can
recognize the characters, relationships, some of the plot devices perhaps, but
everything seems askew. Twilight zone-ish.
That’s how WJT’s production of Ivanov
hit me. The show is incredibly entertaining. Riveting. I didn’t look away for
90 minutes as Nicholas Ivanov debated (among other things) whether to abandon
his sick wife for a much younger neighbour.
But the hyper-direct text in Michael
Nathanson’s adaptation combines with intense, emphatic delivery from the cast
(occasionally grotesquely large) to build stylized scenes that sacrifice
character depth for momentum. Subtlety for tension.
Not that the play stays on this setting
throughout. Sarah Constible is the most consistent holdout, finding a pace and
approach that not only sells the oddest lines as believable but uses them to
build the richest character – Ivanov’s dying wife, Anna. And the others have
their more restrained, nuanced scenes as well, grounding a play overflowing
with thoughts about love, cheating and fate in authentic human beings.
And it’s not that the “heightened”
sections (for lack of a better title) aren’t motivated and well executed. They’re
fascinating and alienating at the same time.
Check out the show. Let me know what you
think. I’ll be processing both the play and the performance for awhile.
Ivanov
By Anton Chekhov
Adapted by Michael Nathanson
Winnipeg Jewish Theatre
Through February 9
Directed by Mariam Bernstein; with Sarah
Constible, Paul Essiembre, Laura Lussier and Arne MacPherson; set design by
Darrell Baran; lighting design by Bill Williams; costume design by Maureen
Petkau; video design by James Jansen; stage managed by Michelle Lagasse.
