DETAILS

The Attic, The Pearls & Three Fine Girls by Sage Theatre
Pumphouse Theatre
Thursday, November 13 - Saturday, November 22

More in: Theatre

Sororal relationships are at the heart of Sage Theatre’s second show of the season, The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls. If you grew up with a sister, as I did, then this show will have particular resonance for you.

The script is written by not one, not two, but five female playwrights: Jennifer Brewin, Leah Cherniak, Anne-Marie MacDonald, Alisa Palmer and Martha Ross.

The play tells the story of three women — the Fine sisters — who come together after the death of their father. They reconnect with one another, reopening old wounds, reliving childhood memories and trying to resolve long-standing issues.

Starring Elinor Holt as Jojo, Nicola Elson as Jayne and a delightful Ava Jane Markus as Jelly, the sisters act out childhood games they used to play in the attic (some in the present, some in flashback), complete with fights over who will wear mom’s pearls and who gets to lord over the other two with the “torture dress.”

Each sister is dysfunctional in some way: power-broker Jayne has trouble coming to terms with the fact she’s a lesbian; academic Jojo suffers from feelings of inadequacy; and artistic Jelly remains the object of constant teasing and abuse at the hands of her older sisters.

Sisters share a unique bond, even if they don’t get along. For this play to work, that truthful, sisterly connection has to be there. Unfortunately, I found the relationship between the three “sisters” contrived, especially near the beginning — they just didn’t seem like sisters. As the play wore on, however, their relationship started to grow. I caught myself laughing to myself as I made parallels between what was taking place onstage and some of the funny things my sister and I used to do.

The show has a number of funny moments, but I found the actors sometimes pushing too hard for laughs, taking away from the story’s poignant undertones.

Holt, who often graces the large theatre spaces of Alberta Theatre Projects and Theatre Calgary, could stand to tone down her portrayal of Jojo to fit the intimacy of the Joyce Doolittle Theatre. I found her performance overwhelming for the space.

The production is frequently frenetic, with characters chasing one another across the stage during a party in honour of their late father, and Jayne and Jojo yelling at each other almost constantly. In one scene, for example, we see Jojo walking into the attic with a doll’s head on the end of a knife. If the intent is to be over-the-top, the cast has succeeded.

In addition, audience members should be warned: if you don’t want to be involved in the show, then sit in the back and away from the aisles, because these sisters love to break that famous “fourth wall.”

It was a welcome break when the din onstage subsided briefly for two touching scenes. When the youngest sister, Jelly, addresses her dead parents, and when Jayne tries to break up with her female lover over the phone.

One thing I particularly like about this production is Brendan McGuigan’s sound design. Every song is well chosen and enhances the mood and tone shifts throughout the show.

The production resides somewhere between a slapstick show, with all its physicality and energy, and a more conventional play. I would recommend The Attic, The Pearls and Three Fine Girls for sisters to see together, because it will likely stir up some funny memories that’ll provide plenty of post-show entertainment.