Age Of Arousal...Too many cooks spoil the sauce.

Age of Arousal (AOA) by Linda Griffiths was inspired by 'The Odd Women' by George Gissing. It's directed by Sarah Garton Stanley and playing at Centaur to April 19th.

AOA offers an opportunity to highlight the talents of the under-worked actresses of Montreal. The play is well performed by a stellar ensemble cast that includes Clare Coulter as Mary Barfoot. I found it very difficult to forget her very recent appearance on the Segal stage in her role in Buried Child and was never quite sold on her character here in AOA. Alison Darcey is by far the stand out performance in this production and it is more than well worth the price of a ticket just to see her quality 'Broadway worthy*' portrayal of Rhoda Nunn...I had only ever seen her perform in a few roles: Bash and girlsgirlsgirls and have heard tell of Her talent as an actress; I’m more familiar with her talent as a director: Bash, Life Is A Dream. Other performances in AOA by: Diana Fajrajsl, Gemma James-Smith, and Leni Parker** as are all enjoyable; I would have liked to see the character of Virginia Madden** further developed though. Julian Casey as the only actor on stage holds his own amongst these strong female characters. *It's only a matter of time!

However where the production fails dramatically is in the design with an overbearing set that completely encumbers the stage and overwhelms the cast with copious amounts of set changes (20 in fact) and forced blocking; Added to this is a sound track that at times becomes annoying and unnecessary. Equally aggravating are the overstated and distracting costumes, particularly those of the two leads. Finally the light design which starts out from the get go trying to keep up with the text and the set- scene changes, eventually becomes as annoying as a strobe light; The 'special effect' used to signal the audience when we're hearing the characters inner thoughts versus just hearing their lines. This design was condescending to an audience that could 'get it' without being spoon-fed this added visual. Surely the Centaur audiences are intelligent enough to figure it out on their own. If the play's text and the direction wasn't enough to clearly signal the differentiation then the problem must be much more deep routed. What is otherwise a pleasantly entertaining production, the play itself isn't a powerful enough text to hold its own when pinned up against all of these distractions. And what was with that horrible choice of song for the finalé?

TRYST is a titillating and inspiring delight.

Tryst a wonderful first class theatrical experience…this drama takes the audience on unexpected psychological twists and turns. An intriguingly stylized production that is pure artistic delight from start to finish it is played out in a soothing yet suspenseful storytelling style by the two lone actors: David Johnson (George Love) and Michelle Giroux (Adelaide Pinchin. Each shares a mutually elevated degree and abundance of talent all too rarely seen on our local stages. They have a strong chemistry made obvious by how they share the space and together fill the stage from left to right. They portray their characters by bringing them to life with the physical precision of their performances and with the aid of a clever use of projection, original music, period costumes, and seamless blocking throughout.

The stage, trimmed with fringe and furnished sparingly with transparent modern pieces, contrasting period props, and a single too small bed, are all incredibly well thought out in the set design by Astrid Janson and Sherri Catt, who's design incorporates another character into the story telling. It is utilized with gentle simplicity by the actors to transition from a milliner shop on 1910 London street corner to a sea-side hotel room. The lighting adds a mysterious flare to the building the tension, but at times gets too dark and shadowy to clearly see the performers expressions upstaging their performances becoming somewhat of a distraction; A little less would be more here, keeping in tune with the overall simplicity of the style of the production.

I assisted to a Sunday matinee performance; the experience felt much like attending a New York off-Broadway matinée. An early schedule of 1:30pm adds to the pleasant and not rushed experience. However, even though one of the youngest members of the audience, which was obviously very, very senior, I too was becoming anxious for the doors to open as the play didn’t actually start until 2pm. A suggestion to FOH: posting somewhere near the staircase which entrance is odd and which is even seat numbers could eliminate a lot of mulling and shuffling around between the two staircases in the lobby. This note goes to all the major houses.

Tryst written by Karoline Leach and masterfully directed by Diana Leblanc continues March 29th at the Segal Centre to, 5170 Côte Ste. Catherine Rd, until March 29. Tickets: 514-739-7944 or 514-790-1245. Photo credit: Randy Cole

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

Blessed Are They @ Saint James Church

A great text that treats a number of universal social issues including AA and the Church in today's society. But other themes are also developed and explored in depth: Faith, Truth, Doubt, and Salvation. Brilliantly performed by a solid ensemble of strong actors including: Eric Davis, Joanna Noyes, Igor Ovadis and Vlasta Vrana and an almost unrecognizable Andreas Apergis as the minister.

Great use of the open space at Dawson Hall; It adds a whole new character to the production. I definitely enjoyed it more here than had it been staged in a traditional theatre space. Costumes were also well attributed. The set was adequate but somewhat 'cheap' in appearance and use; although this is a church so lack of funding is always an issue, as is theatre of course. My biggest issue was with the lighting; there were times that it was almost blinding; too white, and too many black outs.

Other problems I had were:The length of the play to go without an intermission at almost two hours long. Better go to the bathroom before as it is difficult to exit once the play starts. Also there was no refreshments to be had on sight, not even a water fountain, so come prepared with liquids in hand. Also a coat check would have been appreciated for this time of year. entering form the front of the church was unexpected and a bit uncomfortable for some; equally the exit through the side door afterwards onto a very icy 'walk way' leading to the street.

Directed by Guy Sprung. Produced by Infinitheatre. Playing at Saint James United Church conveniently located downtown between McGill and PDA metros on Ste-Catherine. Opened February 17th closes March 8th.

TSHEPANG from South Africa @ La Chapelle.

From South Africa this is a play that was inspired by a true story that reached international media attention in 2001. A socio-political piece that visits the psychological landscape where the events that motivate the play took place. Memorable powerfully strong performances delivered by storyteller Mncedesi Shabangu (Simon) and a strong stage presence by Constance Didi (Ruth). A hauntingly disturbing story that will no doubt spark heated and controversial conversation after you've seen the show.

Very well directed by the playwright Lara Foo-Newton. Produced by former Centaur AD Maurice Podbrey. Playing till March 7.

DOUBT @ Centaur leaves room for some doubt.

Doubt-A Parable, by John Patrick Shanley, is produced by Centaur and directed by Micheline Chevrier. It is put up in the small space and plays until the 29th.

Set in 1964 in a Bronx Catholic school, Doubt deals with many human virtues and faults, and some inhuman sins, of the mind, heart and body. One thing the play doesn't do is leave us any doubt that it is a great piece of writing and is still very relevant today, within society and all the scandals surrounding the church.

If you have seen the film version that came out last fall, with Oscar nominated performances by: Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour-Hoffman, Viola Davis and Amy Adams, you saw a very solid and well produced interpretation of the play. Admittedly these are four of Hollywood's greatest powerhouse talents, ergo hard to go up against. The writing lends itself to feeding the cast of stars with great material, and with the text accompanied by such great actors it would be difficult not to have an equally great production. With this stage production of the play opening while the film is still on the big screens, a comparison is inevitable. I was eagerly anticipating this production and anxious for it to blow me away, the power that the screenplay has on the performances delivered in the film unfortunately is not equally transferred onto the Centaur stage in this production.

The production starts out strong and at a good pace delivering some 'laugh out loud' moments, however it drifts from the dry humorous opening to a slower pace midpoint and a slight dramatic tension, helped by a good sound track, remains through the rest of the play. The lighting is really well designed and is the most important element in bringing this production to the professional level it sets out to attain. The set design has some very questionable choices and is way too stark with too few elements to support the text and create a credible environment for the characters. A desk facing upstage so the character has to present her back to us whenever she's seated becomes frustrating to the point that it undoes the message it was initially intended to send. Costumes are adequate, but we're talking two nuns and a priest, so no big challenge here. The performances of Brenda Robins and Lina Roessler are very solid, and their accents and voices as well as Alain Goulem's are spot on and help to hold our attention. It is Lucinda Davis's portrayal of the mother Mrs. Muller however, that is the most powerful and has the most memorable effect on us.

Where this production commits the 'cardinal sin' is in the overall direction. The blocking is not very challenging nor creative, with actors walking in and out of center stage moving from left to right with a few props back and forth it all becomes very tedious. All the action is centered and no attempt at using the available space. The props, including a totally awful fake tree (that represents a garden) and a crow on a stump, (that seems to have been forgotten as it never got moved from DSR) are barely elaborate enough to fill the demands of the piece. The monotony of the entrances and exits with actors visibly waiting for sound queues of door knocks and phones to ring reminds us of a mediocre high school production and are not elements worthy of a Centaur stage.

What was most frustrating was watching, or rather not being able to watch, the face of Sister Aloysius (Brenda Robins). If you're as unfortunate as I was to be seated audience left side of the stage, you rarely if ever got to see her face; Hidden under the bonnet of her habit we are robbed of her expression throughout most of the play. Since she is the lead and has the best lines this is really unpardonable. (It was the nuance of Steep’s subtle expressions that won her the 15th Oscar nomination she got for this role.) Throughout most of the play, whenever both the nuns are facing off against each other we are only given half of the performance to enjoy since we only get to see half of their faces; rarely are their lines delivered to the audience. This is so frustrating for a piece that begs for delicate subtle nuance from the performances.

I'm left not able to recommend this production of the play over film.

Tempest in a Tea Pot not everyone's cup of tea.

Tempest In A Teapot by Ottawa's Company Of Fools @ MainLine to February 28. An original post-modern deconstruction, part parody part homage, of the original classic “The Tempest” by William Shakespeare, written in 1610. The protagonist leads us on a journey of storytelling as he/she struggles to steer a production of the play while an unruly cast continually questions the script, steps in and out of character and occasionally breaks into song.

Technically sound, the acting is up to par, clever use of the equally cleverly designed set, even the lighting was well designed (for MainLine that is saying a lot), great costumes, and short enough (at under 80 minutes) to keep you entertained. What was most obviously lacking was some actual music. The dead silence in the background left my ears begging for some musical interludes to help smooth out the transitions. Good direction, and blocking was well paced but not perfect, yet for a touring company on a short run, adequate.

In the original, it’s protagonist the banished sorcerer Prospero, Duke of Milan, who uses his magical powers to punish and forgive his enemies when he raises a tempest that drives them ashore. The play takes place on an island under his control whose native inhabitants, Ariel and Caliban, aid (or in the case of Caliban, hinder) his work. While a comedy when it was initially published in 1623, modern editors have since re-labeled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. It did not attract a lot of attention before the closing of the theatres in 1642 but has since been critically acclaimed to the extent that it is now considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest works.

If you are not a fan of the Bard you will still get a tickle from this adaptation, and if you are a fan, and you don’t like anyone tampering with your ‘Tempest’, then you will probably not care for this take. Which begs the question who is the audience for this production… or who isn’t? -To be in the audience, or not to be in the audience? Based on the smattering of people in the audience, my guess is no one knows. -Maybe high school students? With no posters, no sandwich-board out on the ‘Main’, no flyers, no programs, and not listed in the QDF calendar, then apart from the MainLine connection, this out of town ‘company of fools’ may have a lot of trouble (to quote a line from the play) “putting bums in seats.”