FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
| THEATRE The Stone Angel Margaret Laurence's classic tale, The Stone Angel, is twice blessed in ATP's repertory performance. Not only does James W. Nicholl's adaptation invoke a brilliant interplay of flashbacks, Valerie Ann Pearson's nuanced portrayal of waspish old Hagar Shipley is, like the character herself, a force to be reckoned with. The story centers on Hagar, an elderly regenerate now in hospital looking back on her life with her father, husband, two sons, daughter-in-law and fellow townspeople. Each of the eight supporting actors also play a number of smaller roles in Laurence's pantheon of characters. In fact, part of the genius of this adaptation is the way it uses cross-casting to make remembered episodes resonate with present-day events. When actor Paul Cowling makes the transition from Bram, Hagar's savage husband patiently explaining the rituals of the wedding night, to a modern-day x-ray technician performing his clinical duties, we are invited to connect images of Hagar's body throughout her life - youthful, inexpertly sexual, reproducing and aging. On the other hand, the irony of Cowling's caregiving role also asks us to rethink Bram's less than nurturing relationship with Hagar - and vice versa. Mid-sentence shifts such as these are one of the play's great challenges. It is a testament to the actors and to director Susan Ferley that they come off so well. What could easily be a baffling roster of quick changes flows seamlessly on in a dialogue between past and present that feels inevitable. As Hagar, Valerie Ann Pearson flies from 90 to six or 26 with an agility that befits the veteran actress. Without the help of make-up or costume changes, we follow these leaps through vocal, gestural and postural cues alone. The supporting cast is also largely convincing. Cowling as the degenerate Bram; Gerald Matthews as Hagar's do-gooder son; Natascha Girgis as the grudgingly devoted daughter-in-law; the ever-comical Wes Tritter as drunk Murray Lees; and David Warburton as Hagar's domineering father all stand up to scrutiny. Also noteworthy in the smaller roles is Girgis's wonderfully subtle portrayal of hospital inmate Elva Jardine. In capturing Elva's idiosyncrasies and humanity, Girgis blends humor and the kind of grace only the elderly possess. Scott Reid's minimalist set puts the emphasis where it belongs - on the acting. The stage is backed by filmy white veils that act alternately as screens for remembered events and curtains in a four-bed hospital ward. Everything about the set reminds us that this is a story about a woman encountering herself through the lenses and filters of her own mind. |