A time tunnel of style

The week-long London One Act Festival is an active part of London’s thriving theatre scene. Besides celebrating their tenth anniversary this year, the festival continues to feature new and burgeoning local playwrights, directors and actors. All scripts are original plays written by London playwrights. Each night patrons experience three plays.

Beyond Belief

Fortunately I watched this production before reading the program plot line’s notes. Therefore, I allowed my imagination to determine what the play meant. It was clear early on we were viewing one woman’s imagination at work, but I thought I was witnessing the symptoms of schizophrenia: auditory hallucinations, paranoia, bizarre delusions and disorganized speech and thinking. If that were the case, the screaming and the nonsensical dialogue between Kate (Petryna Venuta) and the many characters her mind creates made “sense.”

While there are some gem lines: “My country is a place of dreams.” “The memories are being killed in me,” the critic in me hoped for stronger development of the characters and plot in the world the playwright (also Venuta) created.

Yet Ms. Venuta should not let my comment discourage her. In fact, Beyond Belief, while admittedly less amusing and not even in the same ball park, may incite one to think of Six Characters In Search Of An Author, the satirical tragicomedy play by Luigi Pirandello. That play was part of a movement in the early 20th century called theatricalism. These anti-illusionists rejected realist drama and substituted the dreamlike, the expressive and the symbolic.

I’ll conclude with another of Venuta’s great lines in Beyond Belief which just about sums it up: “I don’t understand and you don’t have to.”

Sisters

Following Beyond Belief, Sisters appeared to be a return to sanity. A granddaughter referees some disagreements between her youthful grandmother and her set-in-her ways great aunt.

Again I felt I was experiencing a time warp of style as this production’s direction used the broad strokes of yore within the context of a very contemporary story. (Interestingly enough, no director was given a credit in the program. Coincidence?) Marion Johnson did a fine job with her script. Its simplicity and use of multi-generational characters may find a place in many festivals to come.

I must fault the direction for the flaws in this production though. Casting an attractive 40-something actress as a 68 year old just didn’t fly. (Especially when the granddaughter on stage is 20-something and has lived with her boyfriend).

And while each of the actresses had good moments, without a director’s strong hand guiding them, I felt they were left dangling with paint-by-number sketches instead of colourful portrayals the script called for.

Outer Space

Methinks playwright Dan Ebbs has experienced the world of telemarketers first hand. His Outer Space script was witty, insightful and revelatory — if you are innocent to the ways of telemarketers, that is. I am not as I have a sibling who excels at this variant of the gift of the gab. Oh, the stories one hears. Ebbs’s script nailed them to a T.

Lucky him to have such a good cast to bring his story to life guided by the wonderful direction by Sheri Laidlaw.

When new trainee Charlene, as played by Heather Bailey, arrives at the theatre entrance door, her expressions and language were a wonderful surprise, as I wasn’t sure if this person was a sixth character from Beyond Belief, a noisy, late patron or a character from Outer Space!

I confess, I am prejudiced. This is my kind of play — over-the-top yet anchored in realism.

I heard mumblings of where was the respect of space for the invisible office wall? I imagined a giant window that had a sliding window so that the goings on could be monitored by the Office Manager aka The Office.

All the performers had fine moments but I must single out a few. Margot Stothers had wonderful quiet strength as the painter. She seemed the only one not from “outer space.” Karen Bancroft, as the long-haired, pining-for-a-co-worker Valerie was a visual and vocal delight. As was Matthew McKenzie playing the SOB you love to hate, Bobby. McKenzie was so convincing only those who know the actor would be able to determine where Bobby begins and McKenzie ends. The performance was seamless, appeared effortless and was totally believable.

In this world, Outer Space should do well come LOAF awards this Sunday.