THE VISIT
Theatre Junction
Runs until February 17
Betty Mitchell Theatre (Jubilee Auditorium)
What would you do for a million dollars?
In these days of Survivor and that Regis Philbin game show, it seems like we're a world obsessed with this question. With that in mind, Theatre Junction's Mark Lawes couldn't have picked a more timely play for this season than The Visit. In this chilling Friedrich Durrenmatt play, a small town must choose between morality and money in a scenario that makes Survivor pale by comparison.
The struggling little town of Gullen is dying a slow death with no work and no hope. When billionaire Claire Zachanassian arrives, the citizens are thrilled by her promise to give the town $1 billion. However, her price is justice. As a teenager, her life was ruined by her faithless lover, Alfred Schill. Now she demands the life of Alfred Schill in return for her money.
The story that unfolds is gripping. Initially, Schill's neighbours are indignant, rallying to defend their respected shopkeeper. But the lure of Zachanassian's money is too much for the impoverished townfolk. Gradually, friends and family begin to turn away from him.
The Theatre Junction repertory company is in their element with everyone playing several roles to create the populace of Gullen. Trevor Leigh as the Mayor and Barry Thorson as the Priest are memorable as town leaders who change with the wind.
In the lead roles are local favourites Darcy Dunlop as Claire and Grant Reddick as Alfred. Dunlop is deliciously grotesque as the bitter, world-weary billionaire who has been literally cut to pieces by life. She is an eccentric who would put Howard Hughes to shame as she commands an entourage of eunuchs, criminals and a series of husbands. But it is Reddick's performance as Alfred that commands the stage. We sympathize with him throughout the play, so we share his horror as his home town transforms around him. Though initially an optimistic fellow, there is a bitterness over what he sees as his failed life that fires Schill through this ordeal.
Director Mark Lawes emphasizes the grotesque’s in Durrenmatt’s play. While in many ways the people of Gullen resemble small-town Albertans, Terry Gunvordahl's expressionist set design keeps them just a step away from us. This Brechtian staging of The Visit is a combination of slapstick comedy and cutting morality play. Appropriately enough, the comic moments serve to relieve the tension as well as sharpen the knife. |
