Best of theatre, 2008

Steven Schelling and I picked our favourite theatre from 2008 for this week's WE.

STAGE: Last (curtain) call — Looking back on the year’s best in theatre

The problem with year-end theatre roundups is that the theatre, like most performing arts, doesn’t follow the guidelines of the Gregorian calendar. With most companies launching their seasons in September and closing them in May, and summer options filling the breach, the January 1 cut-off can seem maddeningly arbitrary.

Difficult or not, WE’s two chief theatre reviewers were strong-armed into conforming. Herewith, a few of their favourite theatrical things from 2008.

FAVOURITE SHOW (LARGE VENUE)
The Tempest and Titus Andronicus shared the smaller of the two stages at Bard on the Beach, but watching the talented cast traverse the diametrically opposed material was like auditing a master class in Shakespeare. — Andrea Warner

Doubt — without a shadow of one. John Patrick Shanley created a crisp 90 minutes of moral ambiguity, refreshingly (and maddeningly) devoid of an obvious conclusion. And the sublime cat-and-mouse game between Jonathon Young and Gabrielle Rose? It just doesn’t get any better. — Steven Schelling

FAVOURITE SHOW (SMALL VENUE)
Being that it was mounted in an East Van warehouse, the venue wasn’t what you might call “small.” Nonetheless, the Virtual Stage/Electric Company live cinematic co-production of Jean Paul Satre’s No Exit — which had its cast locked in a small room and their performances projected in real time on a back wall — was the height of welcome claustrophobia. —S.S.

Rosa Laborde’s timely meditation on youth, politics, and art wasn’t without its flaws, but Léo made for a powerfully taut 90 minutes. A comely cast playing the sexually confused trio of frenemies (coming of age in ’70s-era socialist Chilé) didn’t hurt. —A.W.

FAVOURITE MUSICAL (LARGE VENUE)
The Drowsy Chaperone, the lovingly tongue-in-cheek sendup of the glory days of Broadway musicals, has it all: glamourous costumes, beautifully choreographed dance numbers, and silly songs galore. —A.W.

Despite a few small sound issues, The Drowsy Chaperone, with its great cast (especially Jay Brazeau), great costumes, great music, and great silliness was, ultimately, a great piece of frosted escapism — just as it should be. — S.S.

FAVOURITE MUSICAL (SMALL VENUE)
Into the Woods, Stephen Sondheim’s challenging musical that messes with fairy-tale endings, marked the debut of the promising Patrick Street Productions, and introduced Vancouverites to the incredible Ingrid Nilson as a knife-wielding, wickedly funny Little Red Riding Hood. —A.W.

Into the Woods. Ambitious, well-executed, and a commendable first step for Patrick Street Productions. (Imagine, choosing Sondheim the first time out? That’s ballsy!) I look forward to seeing what they do with their upcoming spring production, The Full Monty. — S.S.

MOST DARING PRODUCTION
It’s a tie between the remount of November Theatre’s dizzyingly incomprehensible yet thrilling The Black Rider and Leaky Heaven Circus’ rollicking cabaret act about cannibalism, A Bone in Her Teeth. (Confidential to Sasa Brown: never has baby-eating been funnier.) — S.S.

FAVOURITE TOURING PRODUCTION
Edmonton’s Catalyst Theatre and its dark, brooding, and comedic original musical, Frankenstein, brought to the VECC as part of the PuSh Festival. Part goth nightmare, part Tim Burton copyright infringement, the overall effect was mesmerizing and hugely entertaining. — S.S.

FAVOURITE DIRECTOR
Kim Collier, not only for the breathtaking genius of her multimedia No Exit, but for her masterful goth/bondage turn at Shakespeare’s often neglected sex-and-gore fest, Titus Andronicus. — S.S.

Although Kim Collier also rocked Titus Andronicus, fellow Bard on the Beach director Meg Roe’s debut in The Tempest cast a magical spell that was impossible to shake off. — A.W.

FAVOURITE NEW ACTOR
Charlie Gallant’s work this year (as a homophobic and violent teen in Steel Kiss and a Montréal Massacre survivor in The December Man, both with Green Thumb Theatre; and Demetrius in Titus Andronicus at Bard on the Beach), would be impressive for a well-established Vancouver actor. It’s even more so when you consider Gallant graduated from Studio 58 only last year. The winner of this year’s Jessie Richardson Theatre Award for most promising newcomer, his shirtless, hyper-sexual turn in Titus made him a talked-about matinee idol, and not just for the high-school field trip set. — S.S.

FAVOURITE NEW COMPANY
Itsazoo transformed Queen Elizabeth park into a fairy-tale playground with Grimm Tales, a twisted re-imagining of classic fables, led by first-time forest tour guides Hansel and Gretel. Funny and occasionally creepy, it was also the only theatre company to incorporate exercise with entertainment (with Boca del Lupo on hiatus), utilizing the entire park for each vignette. —A.W.

FAVOURITE TREND
The rise of the “old man”: Jay Brazeau and Simon Webb, two of Vancouver’s most established theatre vets, brought wit and grace to stages big and small. Brazeau was a manic, money-hungry lech one minute (The Producers) and a cranky, hilarious, musical-loving agoraphobe (The Drowsy Chaperone) the next. Webb’s lean frame managed to fill out the sharp edges of Harold Pinter’s one-act plays (Pinter’s Briefs) and corralled the loose-cannon characters as the narrator in Into the Woods. —A.W.

Being able to see original plays before the movie versions hit the screens (at least in the cases of Doubt and Frost/Nixon). Even though it took far too long for The Drowsy Chaperone to come to town, apparently Vancouver has graduated from third- to second-tier when it comes to getting the rights to acclaimed Broadway and West End shows. —S.S.

The Tempest

My review of the Tempest appears in this week's WE. Pick up a copy today!

The Tempest

By Andrea Warner

Like the very word from which it derives its name, The Tempest, has proved to be an uncontrollable force in Shakespeare’s canon. Originally labeled a comedy, it has gone on to defy scholarly expectations because of a deceptively simple narrative that masks grander themes of vengeance, the occult, and colonialist tendencies. That Shakespeare was a tricky guy, and he’s met his match in Meg Roe’s wonderfully magical reinvention of The Tempest.

Prospero —a Duke usurped by his brother, Antonio—washed up on a magical island with his daughter Miranda fifteen years ago. Prospero seized control of the island from the witch, Sycorax, and has enslaved her deformed son, Caliban. Ariel, a sprite, is eager to be freed from Prospero’s service, but is held to one more day of service as Prospero enacts revenge upon his brother, and washes the King’s boat ashore, stranding Antonio, the King, and several members of the King’s court. Prospero separates the Prince from his father, in the hopes that the Prince and Miranda will fall in love.

The Tempest’s opening minutes are electrifying, indicative of what’s to follow. With the use of a simple heavy rope, the cast and crew physically form the hull of the ill-fated ship, and struggle against the commanding storm Prospero has raised. It’s no easy feat to simulate a believable storm, and there were more than a few audience members steadying themselves in their seats throughout the sequence.

The ongoing physicality of the supporting actors is impressive, particularly Hamza Adam, Omari Newton, and Charles Christien Gallant, as Spirits and various mariners. Their movements are lithe and graceful, but strong, and bring remarkable energy to the stage.

Jennifer Lines’ great performance is also due in part to her physical embodiment of Ariel: eager to please (her knees turn in and one foot juts out in nervousness); desperate to know if Prospero really loves her (her face a mixture of hope and yearning); and anxious that her bidding buys her freedom (her eager flight for each task). Lines’ is incredibly light on her feet, and her energy never lags. She also possesses a lovely voice.

Allan Morgan delights in his character’s sadistic elements, but keeps Prospero playful as well. It’s hard to keep a steadying hand on Prospero’s multifaceted personality (perhaps also a commentary on mental illness?) but Morgan makes it effortless. And, his closing speech as Prospero asks the audience’s forgiveness is appropriately rueful—after all, to err is human.

Though the rest of the cast is also very talented, it’s Colleen Wheeler and Naomi Wright who steal the final accolades here as Stephana and Trincula, two ladies from the court who wash up on the island with a fondness for the drink. Their initial scene post shipwreck (mistaken identity, an eyebrow raising mounting) is possibly the funniest thing on stage this year. Wheeler (a modern-day Lucille Ball) plays up Stephana’s cougar-like shine to the slave Caliban (Bob Frazer), who proves game for anything, including foot licking.

Roe’s Tempest offers an onion worth of layered subtext: her clever changes—including gender swapping (as written originally, Miranda is the play’s only female role)—amp up the comedic and provocative nature of Shakespeare’s masterful use of language. This Tempest also plays up its kinkier side: master/slave relationships, interspecies romance, and sexual politics are featured prominently, all but obscuring the 400 year gap between its writing and this staging. The music is unobtrusive and effective, enriching scenes such as the beautiful wedding between Miranda and the Prince. Even the costuming and lighting are inventive. Fresh and frisky, this Tempest blows strong from start to finish.