Review: People, Places & Things (NYC)
iPhoto caption: People, Places & Things. Photo by Teddy Wolff
People, Places & Things
The National Theatre/Headlong Production
Written by Duncan MacMillan. Directed by Jeremy Herrin. At St. Ann’s Warehouse (NYC). Runs until December 3.
When Emma has a major crisis while onstage playing Nina in The Seagull—missing lines, unsteady on her feet, and uncertain where she is—it’s time for her to check herself into rehab. She snorts one last line of coke off the desk in the reception, thinking that all she needs to do is detox and then she can leave. The medical staff and people in her support group have other plans. She has to face her demons, be honest with herself, and understand why she turned to drugs and alcohol.
Playwright Duncan MacMillan has such a gift for storytelling. (His terrific play Lungs was at Tarragon a few years ago.) In People, Places & Things, he meticulously shows us the slow rise and the complete crash of a drug addict and alcoholic. It’s a careful examination of the culture of addiction and how addicts turn to the same tricks and lies to fool people who love and support them. MacMillan does not give us a neat, satisfying ending. Rather, it’s one that is true and believable.
Jeremy Herrin directs this with swift efficiency. The pace never lets up. The star, of course, is Denise Gough as Emma, who won an Olivier Award for this performance when it played the National Theatre in London. She is mesmerizing. From the hollow, ragged face and the glassy-eyed stare, to the constant unsteadiness on her feet and the fluctuation between regret, sadness, confessional sorrow, and lying, you are taken on a rollercoaster ride of gut-wrenching emotion. And it’s thrilling.
For tickets or more information, click here.
Lynn Slotkin
Lynn is the former theatre critic for Intermission, and currently writes reviews on her blog The Slotkin Letter. She also does theatre reviews, interviews, and commentary for CIUT Friday Morning (89.5 FM). She was a theatre reviewer for CBC's Here and Now for ten years. On average, she sees 280 shows a year.
LEARN MORE
iPhoto caption: Jane Spidell in 'Twelve Dinners.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Family tensions run high in TIFT’s intimate Twelve Dinners
In the now-closed Twelve Dinners, an autobiographical play written and directed by Steve Ross, audiences received intimate access to an unvarnished version of a younger Ross through 12 evening meals with his parents.
iPhoto caption: Members of the company of 'Narnia.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Bad Hats’ Narnia is a joyful, heartwarming escape
The spirit of openness and the joy of discovery rule over this Narnia. Open the wardrobe and see.
iPhoto caption: Members of the company of 'Robin Hood.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
REVIEW: Canadian Stage’s Robin Hood panto is anti-capitalist fun for the whole family
Following Ross Petty’s legacy of scene-stealing, Damien Atkins as the evil Prince John is easily the greatest delight of the show.
iPhoto caption: Lauren Gillis and Alaine Hutton in 'Public Consumption.' Photo by Eden Graham.
REVIEW: Lester Trips’ stylish Public Consumption captures the internet’s profound emptiness
Rather than directly representing online life, Public Consumption speculates — with virtuosity — about how the digital world affects our bodies. And the show's findings are by no means comfortable.
iPhoto caption: Tony Ofori and Daren A. Herbert in 'Moonlight Schooner.' Photo by Dahlia Katz.
Kanika Ambrose’s Moonlight Schooner is animated and visually stunning, but its individual pieces don’t come together as neatly as I would've expected.
iPhoto caption: Fiona Mongillo in 'Reproduktion.' Photo by Ann Baggley.
REVIEW: Here For Now’s well-acted Reproduktion attempts to tackle too much
Amy Rutherford’s world premiere script is ambitious and the material it covers is complex — but the narrative feels disjointed.
iPhoto caption: Marcel Stewart, Dan Mousseau, Christef Desir, Alex Bulmer, Shakura Dickson in The Story. Photo by Neil Silcox
It was frigid the night I saw the production, and when you are freezing and can’t feel your fingers or toes, time-wasting shenanigans wear thin.
iPhoto caption: Lena Maripuu, Graham Conway, and Peter Pan ensemble. Photo by Nicholas Porteous
Joy to the world—the most inventive, lively, whimsical production of Peter Pan has arrived for the holidays!
iPhoto caption: Robyn Stevan in The Mess. Photo by Dahlia Katz
Co-creators Mikaela Davies and Polly Phokeev have devised a short, complex, layered story of how the mess a person creates can affect those around them.
iPhoto caption: Company in the Grand Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol. Photo by Claus Andersen
Reviews: A Christmas Carol (x2)
Reviews of two productions of A Christmas Carol—Ross Petty Productions and the Grand Theatre, in London, Ont.—that couldn’t be more different.
iPhoto caption: David Schurmann and Carly Street in Heisenberg. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann
Of the three productions I’ve seen of Heisenberg—on Broadway in New York, the West End in London, and here in Toronto—this one is the best.
Comments