The Assumption of Empire by Anne Lambert

A very academic take on loves past and present of the heroine with a good analysis of a mother and adolescent daughter relationship. Played out in flashbacks, always risky in theatre, in Montreal from 1979 - 2006, Laura Mitchell successfully takes us to and fro her past and present political and personal life with humor and charm. To quote the program: "A play about the empires we assume we have, both personal and political, and a celebration of how many lives we do have." Fans of Mitchell (Two time Harvest cornucopia recipient for best actor in a supporting role in Tacit Agreement, 2004; and for Biss-ous in 2006.) will relish in her energy and enthusiasm as she pulls the thread that weaves and holds this production together.

Technically the issues I had were numerous however tedious with nothing major except for a the annoyance of a phone that rings from stage right when the prop is stage left of center, but this Is MainLine. Also with the overall pacing of what is at times a very dry academic subject matter, too informative and drawn out at times some editing could have been made to a few of these scenes to keep it more fluid and the play running more consistently at a quicker pace. The transitions were far to frequent and this is accentuated with too many black outs and copious amounts of props to place and remove and cross over entrances and exits.

With: Laura Mitchell (Sophie Wiseman), Bill Croft (Steve Gold), Tim Hine (Ivan Gercik), and Alice Abracen (Elliot Wiseman-Gold, the daughter, and who is also coinsidentally the daughter of the playwright.) Produced by Unwashed Grape, directed by Paul Hawkins. Plays March 3 - 22 @ Mainline. Some performances have been cancelled since opening and others are sold out so best to call ahead @ 514 849-3378