Icarus Redux
By Sean O’Neil
Photo by Kate Duncan.
St. Vladimir’s Theatre
Mon. July 6 @ 3:15pm
Wed. July 8 @ 8:00pm
Thu. July 9 @ 3:30pm
Fri. July 10 @ 11:30pm
Sun. July 12 @ 12:45pm
Tickets are $10 at the door.
Reviewed by Daina Valiulis
Icarus Redux of the Open Season Theatre Company is Sean O’Neil’s writing and directing debut, telling the story of a father and son struggling to connect within the context of the Daedalus/Icarus story. Beautifully designed with a mostly grey set and costumes punctuated by a red object here and there, this production is solid.
The Man’s wife/Boy’s mother has died and both struggle to come to terms with this situation, as well as try to understand each other. Her absence leaves a huge void, especially for the Boy (Alex Fiddes) who was constantly doted on by her and favoured her over his father. Throughout the play, he very often gets lost in memories, sensations, and metaphors, at times going a bit overboard. As engaging and wonderfully colourful as Fiddes’ performance was, the play was more interesting when the two men would interact: that’s where the conflict thrived. Jonathan Whittaker also gives a strong performance as Daedalus, capturing the despair of a father who has lost everything and a man desperately trying to find his son. The pair was most engaging when pitted against each other and it was interesting to see the characters’ attempts to understand and accept the other.
Although its running time is 60 minutes, Icarus Redux feels like a full-length play for its richness and depth of subject matter. It was satisfying to see just this show on a Fringe night when the option is often to see many, which speaks very highly of the production’s success. Bravo!
