Monday, February 21, 2011

Vincent River - Tarragon Theatre Extra Space

One hour 'till show time. I rushed this play tonight. I don't think I've ever rushed a play before, usually I like getting my tickets far in advance. But I have missed a few plays lately as I felt over-booked and the money has gone to waste. I figured by rushing I could ensure I still felt like seeing the play on the day in question and save $15, so it was a win-win.
Not being familiar with the rushing concept I got here about 5:30 for the six pm sale and was easily the first one here. By 5:55 one other couple had shown up and I've seen no one else since. I suppose the 20 available rush seats will go unsold, barring a miracle.
The theatre is in a remote location near Castle Loma and with nothing to do for two hours, I walked to one of the nearby restaurants (both Indian) and got a chicken curry which was decent. That killed about 15 minutes or so and I've come back and been sitting in the theatre lobby ever since. I'm still feeing quite seasick so I don't trust myself to go home and come back. Plus it would have probably taken about 30 minutes each way, leaving me a cool 15 minutes at home anyway.
So I'll sit here and wait, review to follow after the show.


The play was perfection, it will haunt me for the rest of my days.  It starts off with an interesting premise, a boy, 17, follows a middle aged woman home. She invites him in. They start to talk. It turns out he's been following her for weeks, she's noticed him. He's aware that her son was recently killed, murdered in a gay bashing. Does he know more?
The stories of the two unravel, spilling out, never too fast, never too slow. Watching, I lose all sense of time, of myself, of my surroundings. There is only them, there is only the story. The actors are the characters, they pull you in and pull until you can't get back. At the end a final reveal and my blood stops running, I cease breathing. This is why theatre was invented. This is why I go. This is the power of the stage.
My heart slowly starts beating again, moving slowly, unwilling to step out of the moment. The story, haunting, is a part of me. I walk but don't see, don't smell, don't taste, my senses high-jacked.
I just missed my subway stop.
The show was perfect. The acting by the two leads, Matthew Gorman and Kyra Harper, was perfect. The staging was perfect. The story was perfect.
Life-changing.

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