Although the
weather outside is the typical bitterly cold that’s usually associated with
February, the Montreal theatre scene certainly isn’t hibernating this winter.
Here are two productions that are currently burning up the stage.
The latest offering
in the Centaur Theatre’s 2012-2013 subscription season is “Innocence Lost”, a
compelling examination of the Steven Truscott murder case that has polarized
Canadians for more than 50 years. In 1959, Truscott, a 14-year-old teenage boy
who lived near a Canadian Forces base in rural Ontario, was arrested, tried and
convicted of the rape and murder of 12-year-old Lynne Harper … and was
sentenced to hang (his sentence was later commuted by then Prime Minister John
Diefenbaker to life in prison).
The play, a
co-production with Ottawa’s National Arts Centre, is done with a docudrama
approach, in which the people of Truscott’s hometown, the police, the trial
lawyers, the judge and Truscott’s family and friends tell the whole sordid
story of this terrible miscarriage of justice. The first half of the play sets
the tone of innocence of the town prior to the murder, and how that innocence
became lost with Harper’s murder and the rather speedy trial that rushed a
guilty verdict for young Truscott. The second half of the play deals with how
that verdict affected the townspeople – directly and indirectly – and how it
took away the innocence of everyone involved, especially when Isabel Le
Bourdais’ best selling 1966 book “The Trial of Steven Truscott” established a
great deal of reasonable doubt and reopened the case for establishing the fact
that Truscott did not commit the murder.
The ensemble cast
of 10 actors – who perform a total of 40 roles – has done a tremendous job of
theatrical multitasking, and never loses their tempo when switching from one
role to another (veteran actress Fiona Reid (classicTV mavens remember her as Cathy King in the popular 1970s CBC sitcom "King of Kensington") shines as Isabel Le Bourdais, and
Trevor Barrette and Joan Wiecha somehow bear an eerie resemblance to Steven
Truscott and Lynne Harper, respectively).
At the reception
following the opening night performance, playwright Beverley Cooper told the
gathering that Truscott himself saw the play when it debuted six years ago, and
gave it his personal approval. I think that seals the validity and importance
of this play, as it boldly displays what a miscarriage of justice and a rush to
judgment can turn our justice system into a stark travesty, and how it can
divide and polarize not only a small town in Ontario, but also all of Canada.
“Innocence Lost” is playing at the Centaur until February 24. For more
information go to www.centaurtheatre.com.
* * *
Another local stage
production of note these days is Infinitheatre’s “Kafka’s Ape”, which is
playing at the Bain St. Michel – located at 5300 St. Dominique Street – until
February 17.
Based on the story
“A Report to an Academy” by Franz Kafka, the premise of “Kafka’s Ape” is the
annual general meeting of Graywater, an international military “security” firm
in which one of its bombastic slogans is that it’s a “company of heroes”. Mr.
Redpeter, a half man-half ape dressed in a tuxedo, is the keynote speaker at
the meeting.
Throughout his
speech, Redpeter (excellently played by Howard Rosenstein) relates to the
audience (who indirectly portray the Graywater shareholders at the meeting), of
his somewhat “evolution” from ape to human (or as he refers to as “uman” –
pronounced “oo-man”) from his capture in his native Gold Coast of Africa to his
“education” to humanhood thanks to Graywater, where he becomes a certified
hand-to-hand combat instructor for the company.
Rosenstein gives an
intriguing performance as Mr. Redpeter, in which he shows that although he has
become a somewhat “civilized” human, there are still traces of his primate past
that still seep in (especially his apelike dance when he polishes off an entire
bottle of fine wine, glassful by glassful); basically, he effectively melds the
mannerisms of ape and human in one well acted package. There’s plenty of irony
in this play, as Redpeter, a distinguished, cultured and intelligent member of
the peace industry shows that such an enforced personal change has made him
more of an animal than before his rather violent capture in deepest, darkest
Africa (and is not afraid to drop his trousers to proudly display his entry
wound scars to the audience).
In a way, “Kafka’s
Ape” is almost an intellectual argument for the raison d’etre of the “Planet of
the Apes” movies, where one breed’s contempt for another breed has created so
much confusion in the evolutionary food chain. An engaging solo performance.
For more information go
to www.infinitheatre.com.
