Review: Reflector
iPhoto caption: Reflector. Photo by Michael Cooper
Reflector
Theatre Gargantua
Written by Michael Spence. Conceived and directed by Jacquie P.A. Thomas. At Theatre Passe Muraille. Runs until November 18.
Four people are affected by a picture of an eight-year-old girl in a war-torn country in Theatre Gargantua’s latest show, Reflector. There’s the hardened photographer (Michael Spence), a woman profoundly affected by the image (Louisa Zhu), a woman burdened with a perfect memory (Michelle Polak), and the therapist who deals with their traumas (Abraham Asto).
The multi-disciplinary company, celebrating their twenty-fifth season, leans heavily on physical theatre. The four actors—all playing various roles, each with distinction—run, tumble, roll, jump, and are caught in mid-air by their castmates. The activity suggests the frenzy and fear of any war-torn country.
Jacquie P.A. Thomas conceived of and directed this muscular production and, as usual for the company, Spence wrote it. Integrating rap, hip-hop, prose, and poetry, the dialogue is breathtaking. When Spence, as the photographer, is telling us how he set up the shot of the little girl, there is a quiet urgency in his voice. In that moment, the audience was silent, leaning in to listen. No photograph accompanies the description, and none is needed.
Laird Macdonald’s projections of places in conflict flash on screens behind the action, amplified by Thomas Ryder Payne’s percussive soundscape of bombs and gunfire. At the end of the show, we are left with the real-life, heart-wrenching photographs that have stunned us over the years: a naked girl running from a napalm strike, a Vietnamese man with a gun to his head just before he is shot, three-year-old Alan Kurdi lying dead on a beach.
A single photograph has power. It can stop us in our tracks. This is what Reflector explores, and it does so beautifully.
For tickets or more information, click here.
Lynn Slotkin
Lynn is the former theatre critic for Intermission, and currently writes reviews on her blog The Slotkin Letter. She also does theatre reviews, interviews, and commentary for CIUT Friday Morning (89.5 FM). She was a theatre reviewer for CBC's Here and Now for ten years. On average, she sees 280 shows a year.
LEARN MORE
iPhoto caption: Photo by Fran Chudnoff.
REVIEW: Bad New Days’ Last Landscape unearths raw feelings about the natural world
Last Landscape uses physical theatre, puppetry, and found objects to erode the boundaries between art and nature, human and environment.
iPhoto caption: Photographed productions from L to R, top to bottom, with the photographer in brackets: seven methods of killing kylie jenner (Dahlia Katz), Big Stuff (Dahlia Katz), De Profundis (Dahlia Katz), Goblin:Macbeth (Jae Yang), Salesman in China (David Hou), Dana H. (John Lauener), Earworm (Dahlia Katz), Age Is a Feeling (Dahlia Katz), Honey I’m Home (Eden Graham).
Our favourite theatre productions of 2024, in Toronto and beyond
End-of-year lists are personal. When it comes to theatre, the question isn’t really what shows you liked most, but which ones left the strongest imprint, continuing to pinball around in your mind and heart even after the set is gone and the cast no longer recalls their lines.
iPhoto caption: A Christmas Story production still by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: A Christmas Story feels fresh at Theatre Aquarius
If you want to catch A Christmas Story before it closes, good luck — the show is close to sold out, and with the talent on that stage, it’s not hard to see why.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Danelle Jane Tran.
REVIEW: Yes, Holiday! An Improvised Musical really is different every night
Putting aside its opening number and a single proper noun, every word of Bad Dog Theatre’s Dora Award-nominated Holiday! An Improvised Musical has the potential to change from performance to performance.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Canadian Stage revives the Ross Petty panto with pop songs, puns, and a pinch of Ozdust
Making a case for the panto’s return, The Wizard of Oz is full of local references and charm, and perhaps even some surprise guests to fill audiences with hometown pride.
iPhoto caption: Photo by Marie-Andree Lemire.
REVIEW: Titaníque loves Céline Dion with all its heart
Content quibbles aside, Titaníque’s inarguable accomplishment is musical: What an amazing showcase for a Canadian cast’s vocal chops and capacity to deliver character through song.
iPhoto caption: Marcel Stewart, Dan Mousseau, Christef Desir, Alex Bulmer, Shakura Dickson in The Story. Photo by Neil Silcox
It was frigid the night I saw the production, and when you are freezing and can’t feel your fingers or toes, time-wasting shenanigans wear thin.
iPhoto caption: Lena Maripuu, Graham Conway, and Peter Pan ensemble. Photo by Nicholas Porteous
Joy to the world—the most inventive, lively, whimsical production of Peter Pan has arrived for the holidays!
iPhoto caption: Robyn Stevan in The Mess. Photo by Dahlia Katz
Co-creators Mikaela Davies and Polly Phokeev have devised a short, complex, layered story of how the mess a person creates can affect those around them.
iPhoto caption: Company in the Grand Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Claus Andersen
Reviews: A Christmas Carol (x2)
Reviews of two productions of A Christmas Carol—Ross Petty Productions and the Grand Theatre, in London, Ont.—that couldn’t be more different.
iPhoto caption: David Schurmann and Carly Street in Heisenberg. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann
Of the three productions I’ve seen of Heisenberg—on Broadway in New York, the West End in London, and here in Toronto—this one is the best.
Comments