Abattoir Morning

This blog has been silent for all of 2015.  Too many shows seen and too little time to write about them.  So it takes a major something-or-other to move me to awaken it.  The mover is a play just seen at the Havana Theatre on Commercial Drive -- Abattoir Morning.

In many years of theatregoing I cannot recall seeing a more incoherent, incomprehensible, self-indulgent pile of rubbish than this play.

It is presented by a new group -- OR; Theatre Company.  Some flavour of what they are about is found in the opening line of text at their website: http://ortheatre.com/

     "The forming of the unreal from the depths of division.  From the depths, the truth. 
       The realms of the unreal, unified reality."

After more pretentious drivvle it concludes with:

     "Our Philosophy: The manipulation of space consumes the space and partakes intimately
       of community. The consumption cannot be half-hearted—merely scratching the depths."

The lion's share of the blame for this misspent evening must go to one Ian Kent, described in the program as the Director, Writer and Producer of the play.  (In fact, Kents seem to be present in abundance as the "thank you" page lists four additional Kents.)

Ian Kent's biographical notes indicate that he is a published poet.  There are hints of this in the dialogue where Kent seems to be reaching for blank verse but never achieving it.  And strange sentence structures abound like ones sometimes found in a bad translation.

The two female leads may be capable and talented performers.  But given what they had to work with here there was little opportunity to assess their potential.

Production values were practically non-existent.  The centrepiece was a badly constructed wooden item that purported to be a freezer/locker for storing meat.  At one point in the action one of the characters draped a cowhide over one of the walls facing the audience making it clear that the locker had no ceiling.  No wonder the meat spoiled.

With so many good small theatre companies in the Vancouver area do we really need OR; ?  Based on this production and the nonsense spewing from its website, I suggest not.

2014 (Part 3) - Ten Favourites

Out of over 85 productions seen during 2014, selecting ten favourites is not easy.  At least 50 I thoroughly enjoyed.  Some of these, as mentioned earlier, were “pleasant surprises” because they so far exceeded my expectations.  Others were good, but not quite good enough to make it to the top ten list - here I am thinking of the Arts Club’s middle-of-the-road programming.

 In no particular order, these are my favourite productions of 2014.

Beggar’s Opera
Killer Joe
Little One (fringe)
Since You left Us
Our Town
Kosmic Mambo
Hunter Gatherers
Late Company
The Rainmaker
Iceland

Thanks to everyone associated with these and other productions that made 2014 a memorable theatre year.
           

2014 (Part 2) - Ten Disappointments

Some shows we attend with high expectations. These may reflect the material, the producing company, the performers, critical reviews or simply the hype surrounding them.  A failure to meet these expectations constitutes a disappointment.  The extent to which the actual production falls short of what is expected, the greater the disappointment.

Here, in no particular order, are my greatest disappointments of 2014.

Floyd Collins
Broken Sex Doll
Butt Kapinski
Slaughterhouse Five
Subway Stations of the Cross
Wide awake Hearts
Rodgers and Hammerstein: Out of a Dream
Apophis (Fringe)
Cabaret Brise-Jour
The Government Inspector

2014 (Part 1) - Some Pleasant Surprises 

The next three postings will involve a look back at the various productions seen during the calendar year 2014.  In reverse order, will appear my personal ten best, the ten biggest disappointments and a handful of pleasant surprises.

Committing to attend a live performance frequently requires a leap of faith.  Some or all of the material, the producing company, the performers, and sometimes even the venue, may be unfamiliar or unknown to you.  You go with few or no expectations and are prepared to be disappointed.

Then suddenly it all becomes worthwhile when a show unexpectedly delivers the entertainment package you were hoping for but despaired of getting.  These are my “pleasant surprises” and my list for 2014 is set out below, in no particular order.

Mr. Marmalade
Three Viewings
The Mandrake
Vixens of Wonderland
Gruesome Playground Injuries
The Marvelous Wonderettes
The Mikado (Metro)
Rebel Women

Sherlock Holmes: The Case of The Jersey Lily 

Theatre Crossing’s production, recently seen at the Jericho Arts Centre,  draws on the creations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as some real-life Victorian personalities, to provide a very satisfying evening of entertainment that is fun for both the actors and the audience. 

Solid performances by Brent Fidler, Tim Bissett and Corina Akeson respectively as Holmes, Dr. Watson and Lily Langtry (the actress of the play’s title known as “The Jersey Lily”) were complemented by a suitably menacing Professor Moriarty portrayed by Bill Croft.  For me the high point was Seth Little’s delicious turn as Oscar Wilde, scattering witticisms in his path while, at the same time, surreptitiously scribbling down the pearls that fall from Holmes’ lips for incorporation as his own in future works.

A bouquet to all concerned.

All That Fall - What’s All The Fuss About?  

It is interesting that two different productions should take the format of a “staged” radio play within the period of about a month. The first, the  “It’s A Wonderful Life Radio Show”, I wrote about on December 13.  The second, Samuel Beckett's “All That Fall”, is currently playing at the Cultch Historic – a production of Blackbird Theatre.

I have never seen a Beckett play that I truly enjoyed and All That Fall proved to be no exception.  Apparently, the only way that performing rights to the work could be obtained from the Beckett estate was by undertaking that it be staged in this format since it was originally written as a radio play.  This means that it had little to offer the eye and to succeed it had to have something exceptional to offer the ear.  It did not.  Closing ones eyes to get closer to the radio play experience carried the very real risk of falling asleep.  At fault was the material itself and not the very talented performers who struggled mightily to make something of it.

It strikes me that this reflects mistakes by both the Beckett estate and by Blackbird.  It is possible that All That Fall could be successfully adapted for the stage and, by insisting that performances adhere to the radio format, the estate is short-changing both the audiences and Beckett himself.  Blackbird’s mistake is agreeing to this restriction in the first place.

What surprises me the most is the positive critical reception this production has received.  I simply cannot see what all the fuss is about.

Catching Up  

The last posting at this collection of notes and thoughts was about a month ago.  After some R&R over the holiday season it is time to catch up with a look at more recent shows and a look back at the 2014 calendar year.  Stay tuned.