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Oct. 17 - Oct. 22, 2004 |
Memories of a year in theatre
Best and worst in live entertainment that touched various emotional chords
By Bruce Raymond
Originally Published: 2004-01-11
Once again, it is that time of the year when those of us who are called critics are required to name the best and the worst offerings in our respective areas of interest.
Mine being live theatre, I have to indicate which of the 50 plays I saw in 2003 were the best and which were the worst. I'm not supposed to name any in-betweeners.
Rules aside, here are some of the plays I saw which stayed in my memory long after I left the theatre. And remember, reviewing a play a week for a weekly paper limits the number of plays I can comment upon. My criterion is not whether the play was "good" or "bad" but whether it touched me emotionally... as in, did I choke up with laughter or with tears, or did I have trouble staying awake?
Without a doubt, the Most Polished Play of my year was Two Pianos, Four Hands. However, I'm taking that play out of competition because the two stars, Richard Greenblatt and Ted Dykstra, have had several years in which to perfect their performances. But it was certainly a memorable night at the theatre.
All in all, the Best "New" Play I saw in 2003 was The Coronation Voyage at the Shaw Festival, not because it was Canadian but because it evoked the full range of my emotions. We were driven to a strong visceral dislike of a couple of the characters, and the drama was leavened by some very fine verbal and visual comedy. A close second was Home is My Road, two women's search for identity in Romani. An honourable mention should go to Da Kink in My Hair, which had some very fine moments of pathos woven into a captivating blend of humour and music.
Our community has plenty of good actresses, but two stood out. One was Martha Burns in Happy Days. The play itself left me cold, but Martha's performance was beautifully shaded and at times riveting. A close second, although the role was not quite as demanding, was Susan Coyne in Helen's Necklace. That same play brought us what I believe was the Best Performance by a Male Actor last year, that of Sanjay Talwar for his collection of emotionally-charged cameos. My vote for the Best Supporting Actor goes to Wayne Best as the self-destructive Enobarbus in Stratford's Antony and Cleopatra and for Best Supporting Actress to Ordena Stephens as the bereaved mother in Da Kink in My Hair.
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