REVIEW: Madame Minister is a star vehicle for actor Laura Condlln
iPhoto caption: Madame Minister production still by Dahlia Katz.
A new adaptation of a 1920s Serbian farce? Staged in a cramped hallway in residential Barrie, Ontario? Really?
You must be new here.
Based in Barrie for over 20 years, Talk Is Free Theatre has never shied away from inventive spaces and surprising programming choices. And Madame Minister, the scrumptiously silly romp through politics and class originally penned by Branislav Nusic and adapted for TIFT by Charlotte Corbeil-Coleman, is no exception.
When you arrive, you might think you have the wrong address, but no, Layne Coleman’s production does indeed take place inside a real home, nestled into the armpit of a quaint cul-de-sac. After a quick jaunt through the house’s kitchen, you’ll find a hallway flanked by living rooms, inside which are 40 or so chairs for the audience to peer into that liminal chasm between parlours.
The playing space, that little hallway, can’t be more than a few square metres. But under director Coleman, the foyer feels huge, a receiving room of endless possibilities. When we meet Živka (a starry Laura Condlln), she’s destitute and miserable, draping herself over furniture as she begs her aunt (Gabi Epstein) for a loan. Živka wants nothing more than to move up in the world — to be a member of the elite.
Thankfully, her husband soon gets vaulted to the title of minister, and lowly Živka becomes, yes, Madame Minister. But being rich and comfortable isn’t without its battles — Živka’s daughter Dara (Brittany Kay) is married to, ugh, an artist (Nolan Moberly), and it’s up to Živka to find her offspring a spouse worthy of her family’s new status.
A complicated subplot involving the maid (a playful Mariya Khomutova) soon emerges; meanwhile, Živka preoccupies herself with a steamy affair at the advice of a mysterious visitor (Cyrus Lane). After all — that’s what wealthy women do.
Condlln and Lane alone are worth the drive to Barrie, two comic whirlwinds with terrific chemistry and timing. Condlln’s eyebrows are at times a character all their own — it’s a treat to get to watch her act up close. Lane, no stranger to Talk Is Free, is in fine form here, seemingly given carte blanche to play up all the play’s quirks. (His mispronounced French non-sequiturs are very, very funny.)
Corbeil-Coleman’s adaptation leans into the Gogol-y chaos of Nusic’s play, and uses a fairly modern syntax to create dialogue that is easy to follow despite overlapping plotlines, relationships, and identities. The writing calls to mind Liisa Repo-Martell’s recent adaptations of Uncle Vanya and Hedda Gabler — placeless in diction and rhythm, but specific in emotion and psychology.
Where Madame Minister starts to wear out its welcome is in its conceit as a site-specific piece. It’s easy to see why Talk Is Free chose a residential home for this production — thematically, there might be no better stage for a show critiquing the bourgeoisie than a spacious casa close to cottage country — but suburban single-family houses weren’t built with audience sightlines in mind, and Madame Minister suffers for it. Coleman’s staging is efficient and boisterous, and his cast does all they can to play to both sides of the playing space, but your enjoyment of the show will vary greatly depending on where you sit. (Pro tip: Opt for a chair toward the middle of one of the archways.)
Tenuous sightlines aside, Madame Minister is 90 minutes of good fun. One gets the sense Živka might be a sign of what what’s to come from Condlln’s Miss Hannigan at the Stratford Festival next summer — in another life, Živka and Annie’s infamous orphanage matron are probably friends, knocking back bootleg whiskey and pining for the finer things in life.
Madame Minister might not be the most obvious programming choice for most theatres, but hey — Talk Is Free Theatre is no ordinary theatre company, and Condlln’s performance is well worth a craned neck.
Madame Minister runs at Talk Is Free Theatre through December 7. Tickets are available here.
Intermission reviews are independent and unrelated to Intermission’s partnered content. Learn more about Intermission’s partnership model here.
Aisling Murphy
Aisling is Intermission's senior editor and an award-winning arts journalist with bylines including the New York Times, Toronto Star, Globe & Mail, CBC Arts, and Maclean's. She likes British playwright Sarah Kane, most songs by Taylor Swift, and her cats, Fig and June. She was a 2024 fellow at the National Critics Institute in Waterford, CT.
LEARN MORE
iPhoto caption: Photo by Roya DelSol.
REVIEW: Tarragon’s Craze lacks focus — that’s what makes it fun
A frenzied test of endurance, Craze whips along like a social media feed on steroids, sprinting from image to image with wild, masculine bravado.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Henry Chan.
REVIEW: Erased at TPM sends its greetings from a precarious future
It’s in the moments of poignant ambiguity that Open Heart Surgery Theatre and Theatre Passe Muraille’s Erased really succeeds in firing up the audience’s imaginations, inviting us to try envisioning a better future.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Baram and Snieckus’ Big Stuff uses improv to explore the materiality of grief
The couple’s Second City-tested comic repartee keeps the show moving with delicious lightness.
iPhoto caption: The Bidding War production still by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: The Bidding War is a Lear-worthy extravaganza of housing hell
Ultimately, Albert’s play isn’t just about the house; it’s about a sort of cosmic fairness that has never existed, and how we might feel justified in tipping the scales in our favour after seeing the unscrupulous get rewarded again and again.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.
REVIEW: Moulin Rouge! revels in glitz despite a thin emotional core
While Moulin Rouge! remains a fun romp, I wish the musical had embraced emotional truth as eagerly as it did romantic spectacle.
iPhoto caption: Production still courtesy of The Bee's Knees.
REVIEW: The Bee’s Knees falls short of its timely premise
The Bee’s Knees might evolve into a stronger project down the line, but at present, the play and production feel swept away by the spangled allure of the 1920s setting.
iPhoto caption: Production still courtesy of The Bee's Knees.
REVIEW: The Bee’s Knees falls short of its timely premise
The Bee’s Knees might evolve into a stronger project down the line, but at present, the play and production feel swept away by the spangled allure of the 1920s setting.
iPhoto caption: J. Kelly Nestruck headshot courtesy of The Globe and Mail.
An exit interview with Globe and Mail theatre critic J. Kelly Nestruck
J. Kelly Nestruck has left the building. (Or at least the aisle seat.)
iPhoto caption: Photo of Annemieke Wade courtesy of TAPA.
TAPA appoints Annemieke Wade as new executive director
Wade steps into the position with an extensive background in theatre, with past roles including executive director of Roseneath Theatre and Theatre Direct and company manager of Tarragon Theatre.
iPhoto caption: Beowulf in Afghanistan graphic courtesy of GCTC.
Beowulf in Afghanistan to make world premiere at GCTC
As part of its 50th anniversary season, Ottawa’s Great Canadian Theatre Company will program the world premiere of Laurie Fyffe’s Beowulf in Afghanistan, in a production directed by Company of Fools artistic director Kate Smith.
iPhoto caption: My Name Is Lucy Barton production still by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Maev Beaty sparkles at the centre of a sparse My Name Is Lucy Barton
In Rona Munro’s adaptation, My Name Is Lucy Barton loses some bite; it’s debatable how well the idea works as a piece of theatre. That said, Beaty gleams in a rousing solo performance that showcases her range and emotional depth.
iPhoto caption: Interior Design production still by Jae Yang.
REVIEW: Interior Design sparkles with zillennial wit
Interior Design watches its Peloton-using, social media-obsessed heroines from an empathetic vantage point, holding space for these women and their problems.
Comments