Theatre at UBC's 520's
By Amanda Nicole on November 30, 2007 - 1:22pm
Last night I experienced my second round of Theatre at UBC's 520's. For those who don't have friends or family involved in the university's theatre program, the 520's are a chance for MFA director candidates to strut their stuff in one act.
Including both times I've been, there seems to be one sophisticated and starkly dramatic piece paired with a fluffy, visually confusing one.
This year's first piece, directed by Lois Anderson, was an interesting choice. Medea Redux is a contemporary reincarnation of the original tragic heroine, and Lois places Medea, played very carefully by BFA candidate Courtney Lancaster, in a strictly pared down set under a single bone coloured light. Lancaster, in a house dress and chain smoking, could pass as a frail yet still-lovely middle-aged woman or a world-weary young woman. It is this constant push and pull between innocence and experience, questions (Medea asks frequently asks the audience to confirm her thoughts, "Right?") and answers, control and helplessness, that reveals an effect of human nature known to all of us.
In Featuring Loretta, I can see why director Chris McGregor would allow such a cluttered and frivolously dressed set; playwright George F. Walker's lines weave, collide and tumble over one another as characters stretch themselves in an attempt to be heard. While Walker's script is poetic, however, McGregor's stage reaches for atmosphere but only grasps a shallow understanding of the power of the script. Presented like the pilot episode of a Friends-type sitcom, complete with unnecessary blackouts that can only be likened to commercial breaks, one wonders, Isn't this supposed to be theatre? And the fake-laughter fade-out between the two female characters is reminiscent of the ending to Melrose Place's pilot, wherein all the unlikely friends end up being tossed into the pool and the camera fades out on the overjoyed gang. Luckily the piece is saved by the comedic chemistry between Shaun Aquiline and Spencer Atkinson, who play Michael and Dave, respectively.
UBC's 520's are free and play nightly until Dec. 1. The show time is advertised as 7:30, but they make you wait outside the doors until almost 8, so don't rush your dinner to get there.
