The Mountaintop

 On Friday night I went to Pacific Theatre to see their last play of the season, The Mountaintop, written by Katori Hall and directed by Omari Newton. 

Wow Wow Wow.  

If you read my last post, you'll know that what I really enjoy about good plays is when the entire play takes place in one long scene. That's exactly what this 90 minute gem is - with no intermission. 

Taking place the night before Martin Luther King Jr gets murdered, we witness an imagined meeting he has at his hotel with a maid who is more than she appears. 

The maid, Camae, is played by Shayna Jones who is simply BEGUILING. I cannot think of another word to describe her. Her energy, her facial expressions, her cadence... all of it. It is perfection and you need to see this show if only to witness greatness. 

And Kwesi Ameyaw's turn as Martin Luther King Jr has big shoes to fill, but he manages to make it his own. He goes from stoic to passionate to angry to scared in mere seconds, and it is a wonder to behold. 

If you are searching for some excellent theatre in the city, then do yourself a favour and book your ticket now for The Mountaintop at Pacific Theatre. It is on now until June 11! 

Himmat

Last night I attended the opening of Himmat, at the Cultch. It is a bilingual play (Punjabi and English) about an Indian family in Vancouver. 

I try not to give negative reviews on this site, so I'll just explain why the play did not work for me. I don't speak Punjabi, so I felt I was missing out on some of the characters and their development when they were not speaking English. I thought there might have been subtitles going into it, but there weren't any. And that's fine. I saw the latest movie version of West Side Story where Spanish is included without subtitles, but I had no problem still relating to the characters since the lines in Spanish were fairly minimal. In Himmat, there are several full scenes that are completely in Punjabi and I had no clue what was happening or being said. It's an ambitious and noble attempt at bringing something seemingly new to Vancouver audiences. 

I took a playwriting course before, and I know that doesn't make me an expert on plays, but it did make me notice a few things. There are numerous scenes and scene changes in Himmat. I've found over the years that the plays I enjoy the most are the ones where the set never changes and it's almost like one long continuous scene, as opposed to one minute vignettes right after the other. It disrupts the flow for me and I find it harder to get into the character development. 

Another thing I learned in that course was that the writer or director should try to avoid having their characters sit down, as it drains the energy out of a production. I definitely felt this didn't help the show last night as the characters were either sitting or laying in a bed or leaning against something. 

When I got home, The Cultch had sent out an email saying they felt it was necessary to send out a synopsis of the show. This is probably a good idea and I wish I had received it beforehand. 

Himmat is on now at The Cultch until May 15.

The Invisible

 

On now at the YORK THEATRE is the musical The Invisible : Agents of Ungentlemanly Warfare.  

This is a stunning production with memorable songs about a secret all-female spy cell during WWII. It's inspired by real people and historic events, but was there ever really an all-female spy cell working underground? And if there was, will we ever know for sure? 

This show brings us into that world with a simple set design, stunning lighting, and passionate performers who bring these women's stories to the live stage. 

The Invisible is on now until May 7th!