DETAILS

On the Side of the Road by Theatre Junction
Theatre Junction Grand
Wednesday, March 18 - Saturday, April 4

More in: Theatre

OK, I’ll admit it: I’m wary of contemporary, performance creation theatre. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Theatre Junction’s latest work, On the Side of the Road, a collaborative effort by the Theatre Junction ensemble of artists.

The performing ensemble includes members from a variety of artistic mediums: music, theatre, dance, even sculpture. Their disparate backgrounds come together to create a multi-disciplinary production.

On the Side of the Road starts out well. It’s funny, entertaining and lively. I was pleasantly surprised, in fact. Then, about halfway through the 85-minute show, it slowly descended into obscure weirdness. Now, I don’t mind “weird,” “unusual” and “innovative” theatre. I do mind, however, when a play ceases to make sense. That is the problem with the second half of this production.

I know there are “grand” themes being explored somehow, such as transformation and identity, but just don’t ask me to explain how the play is addressing them.

The story begins at Lac La Biche, a town in northern Alberta. The audience meets Uncle Bill (Stephen P. Turner), who has called his wandering and tortured nephew Sam (Ian Kilburn) home from Europe after Sam’s father dies. Sam brings his French girlfriend, Alice (Raphaele Thiriet), with him. Not only is Alice meeting Sam’s uncle for the first time, but so is Sam — the result of a long estrangement between Sam’s father and Uncle Bill.

Much of the play consists of monologues, with each character taking the stage to share their inner feelings and tell tales of their lives. Alice, for example, recounts how Sam helped transform her from a nihilistic, punk rock chick, to a loving optimist.

We also meet Lola (Diane Busuttil), Uncle Bill’s stripper girlfriend he picked up while trucking in Nevada, and Sam’s friend (Mike Tan), a biochemist who spends his days analyzing water samples and arguing with Uncle Bill about the amount of algae in the lake.

In addition to the speaking cast, there’s another character present — dancer Virginie Thomas — who remains silent and nameless until the final moments. Part of the time she’s flitting about wearing a fur coat, part of the time she’s dancing around as the other characters are talking. While her contemporary dance style is fabulous, I couldn’t figure out who she’s supposed to be, or why she’s there, other than to contribute to the production’s multi-disciplinary nature.

The family meeting at the lake starts out well, but a game of “toss the baby” with a dead fish pushes Alice over the edge, and she flees.

Up to this point, the play holds together well. It’s engaging, tightly written and the main narrative thread doesn’t get lost. Then, the production starts to unravel.

Without giving too much away, Alice gets into an accident that lands her in the hospital in a coma. Consequently, Sam descends into a sort of madness, spending hours on the lake looking for the “end of the sentence.”

What kills the show for me is when the deer in the area start reproducing unnaturally fast and acting strangely — wanting to come into peoples’ cabins, for example. It’s also at this point that the silent dancer breaks her silence and sings, “I am a deer, deer. I am a deer.” Huh? What’s that all about?

Call me conventional, but I do like a play that has an ending or, at least, something that attempts to answer the play’s as-yet-unanswered questions. Unfortunately, On the Side of the Road has no such conclusion. It stops. Abruptly. Like that.

I also find it hard to enjoy a play that drifts into self-indulgent philosophizing and pretension. On the Side of the Road, thankfully, avoids that for the most part. However, it does creep in. For example, Sam defines beauty as “when truth and chaos form a discordant harmony.” Alice says, “reality is a democratically imposed fiction.” I felt my eyeballs start to roll.

What I really enjoyed about the production was its frequent music breaks performed by Kilburn and Nicolas Bernier. The edgy, original compositions add to the impact of the play. The sound design and set, with its mixture of silver streamers and antlers, are of particular note. In one instance, for example, an actor’s voice can be heard coming through the lone radio taking the spotlight onstage, complete with crackling and static.

There are a lot of good elements in On the Side of the Road, from individual performances, poetic writing, music and costumes, to the sound design.

However, I think this show is a case of the final product not being equal to the sum of its parts, and I really would have appreciated some explanation on the whole deer thing

Has On the Side of the Road made me a convert to contemporary performance theatre? No, but it has made me more open to the idea, which, in itself, means it has accomplished a least part of its task.