Nice Portion, Not Quite Filling
Lots Of Laughs And Lots To Think About, But Something Is Missing.
Michael Healey is a funny guy. His writing is clever, quick, and you can't help but laugh out loud at his jabs at politics, public figures, and corporations.
All of those things would usually make for a delightful evening of theatre, but when it comes to his new play Generous, which opened at the Tarragon Theatre Main Space on Tuesday night, something just doesn't add up.
Daryl Cloran, the show's director, has assembled a stellar cast, including Yanna McIntosh, Tom Barnett, Fiona Reid, Michelle Monteith, Ari Cohen and Jordan Pettle. He has directed a slick production which has numerous elements of a great evening of theatre. What has let him down is the way that Healey has structured his work.
Generous is a series of 4 short plays that have their first acts before intermission, and their second acts after it. Each of these plays could be a longer piece on their own, and the disappointing point about this piece is that we're only given a glimpse into the lives of these interesting, funny characters.
The play opens with a very funny scene, taking place 15 years ago, involving a group of politicians who are returning from a budget vote at the House Of Commons in which they have lost, and now must face a non-confidence vote. It's fast paced and vulgar as they try to decide what to do next, and what back-benchers they can sway to side with them. When one of their party members arrives, stabbed in the chest, she reveals that she has killed another member of parliament, because the Prime Minister "asked her to".
Next is a scene, also from 15 years ago, is between a reporter, David Paul and an oil company executive, Julia. What begins as an insightful interview about power turns sexual as Julia seduces David.
The rest of the play takes place in the present.
The sexual theme continues into the next scene, when Maria, a judge in the court system, tries to convince Alex, a talkative law clerk she has just slept with to leave her house.
To round out the first acts, we see an awkward dance/fight scene scene between a couple, Lily and Richard.
Fast forward to act two. The first scene in act two continues the story of Lily and Richard after their fight, when Alex (from Act One Scene Three) arrives to talk to her about her mother, Maria (also from Act One Scene Three) and their estranged relationship.
Scene two takes place in David's office, when Julia arrives to try to convince him to join her in her bid to seek election to Ottawa. She ends up revealing a devestating secret that leaves David stunned and speechless.
Finally, we see one of the members of parliament, who has now become a crown attorney, in the chambers of Maria, discussing what he knows about the death he witnessed 15 years ago, when Alex arrives, announcing his resignation and to ask Maria out for dinner.
There are touching moments in the piece, and high marks to the cast for their stellar work, especially from Yanna McIntosh, Tom Barnett, Jordan Pettle and Fiona Reid. Each of them brings a unique voice and perspective to each of their characters, and we want to love them - and we do.
The only awkward moment in the piece is the dance/fight choreography between Lilly and Richard in act one. While it's interesting to watch these two go at it for essentially no reason, the movement is slow and too choreographed. Working in a tight space, safety has to play a part in this, but it just becomes laboured and rather boring after a couple of minutes. What saves it is Yanna McIntosh, playing a delivery boy, and her dead pan looks as she watches this unfold in front of her.
The set design is clever, using one room with a desk that transforms into the various locales of the piece, but the scene changes are a bit laboured.
I want to be clear. Generous is an enjoyable evening of theatre. Healey has done a great job at creating unique, thoughtful characters and we understand the point he is trying to make with each of them. But there is something missing - we leave the theatre at the end of the two hours, being teased, wanting to know more. For a play that's called Generous, it doesn't leave us full, and that's what we want.
Generous plays at the Tarragon Theatre Main Space now until October 29th.
*** (Out Of Five)
For ticket and show information, click on the Tarragon Theatre Website.
