Stagehands. Photo by Ashlea Wessel of Revolver Photography.
Reviews by Kerry Freek
The Silent City
By Stagehands
Presented by Stagehands
Bread & Circus
Wed, July 7 6:45 PM
Thu, July 8 5:00 PM
Fri, July 9 8:30 PM
Sat, July 10 6:45 PM
Sun, July 11 5:00 PM
Have you seen Rocky Horror Picture Show? How about Tommy? Jesus Christ Superstar? If so, don’t bother with The Silent City. You’ve already seen it.
Starting with the talented outcast leaving the small town to hit the bigtime, this cliché-ridden production steals from basically every rock musical ever written or conceived — and without an ounce of originality. Our hero, Stan arrives in the big city only to find that, at the command of the career-making Mayor, its stars all wear masks. He struggles with the concept, makes one friend (with whom he sings lines such as “don’t lose hope, you’re not alone,” etc.) and eventually stands up to the man. Can you see where I’m going with this? It’s a romping commentary on both fame and individuality, guys. Right?
The singing is mediocre (the two females are the clear stars, and the lead male isn’t awful) to bad (the role of the Mayor — a supposed tyrannical force in the fictional big city who should have a booming, controlled voice — is sung especially poorly), the songwriting is predictable, and the choreography is repetitive. Disappointing.
Kissing Swinburne
Kissing Swinburne
By Mark Huisman and Claire Frances Muir
Presented by Lady Trevelyan’s Circle
Bread & Circus
Wed, July 7 5:00 PM
Thu, July 8 8:30 PM
Fri, July 9 6:45 PM
Sat, July 10 5:00 PM
Sun, July 11 8:30 PM
Mixing puppets, masks, spankings and gender roles, Kissing Swinburne reveals the fictionalized world of Victorian poet Algernon Swinburne (Muir), and his companion, Theodore Watts (Huisman).
Both lovelorn (Algernon for his first love, Mary, played by Mary Krohnert, and Theo for Algernon), these characters are skilfully played. Muir’s “Algy” is a tiny, shockheaded fury — an imp with a penchant for paddling and sadomasochism. She’s a delight to watch, even as her character’s desperation becomes nearly unbearable.
Next to her, Huisman’s Theo is a gentle (or not-so-gentle, as we learn) giant. Huisman demonstrates great range, bringing to life a host of other characters — puppets that suddenly appear in unlikely places, such as bedclothes and cricket paddles. Both he and Muir (a couple offstage as well as on) manipulated the puppets with ease, illustrating hilarious, naughty flashbacks. An outstanding show — see for yourself.
the sum of us collective
The Hurt is Outstanding
By Alexander Overton and Ruta Mekonnen, with input from the company
Presented by sum of us collective
The Solo Room
Sat, July 10 6:15 PM
Sun, July 11 4:00 PM
A coffee shop employee (Alexis Comia-Orellano) fantasizes about a better, more exciting life while a shy (yet poetic and articulate) young man (Overton) yearns for her from afar.
The audience is privy to our server’s nerdy and cute fantasies, which usually involve the customers currently in the shop. Intermittently, Overton’s character spouts some sugary, nerdily self-aware monologues, speculating on her inner workings. The remaining customers have some pretty good lines and roles — the audience especially enjoyed Owais Lightwala’s underwear scene. In all, it’s a neat idea and a good start for the young collective, but it could use some finessing.
Areas for improvement? Firstly, projection. Overton’s soft delivery was near inaudible at some points, and some awkward staging made it hard to hear all of the dialogue. Let’s throw in some editing, too. Truncating the end, tidying up some dialogue, removing some of the overdone sentiment (the napkin disposer metaphor is a bit much), and more evenly balancing humour and seriousness would tighten up the show.
How dare you.