Skip to main content

Review: Poison

int(100193)
iPhoto caption: Fiona Highet and Ted Dykstra in Poison. Photo by Dahlia Katz
/By / Nov 17, 2017
SHARE

Poison

Coal Mine Theatre

By Lot Vekemans. English translation by Rina Vergano. Directed by Peter Pasyk. At Coal Mine Theatre. Runs until December 3.

NOTE: Because there were multiple openings on a single night, Coal Mine Theatre allowed me to review the final preview of Poison.

How do people who experience loss move forward? The delicate but slowly gripping production of Poison gives us a glimpse into the lives of two such people.

He (Ted Dykstra) and She (Fiona Highet) haven’t spoken in nine years, after the death of their son and the unravelling of their relationship. Upon learning that two hundred graves have to be moved, including their son’s, they meet to discuss with a cemetery official what’s to be done.

While they wait for their appointment, they talk tentatively. Pleasantries. In Dykstra and Highet’s nuanced, layered performances, we see the bond they shared when their marriage was strong; the good-natured banter, shared jokes, intimacy. We also see the damage that grief can wreak on a marriage. He has moved on with his life; She is mired in sorrow, still angry that he left her.

She is the first to throw an accusing barb, and, over the course of their wait, shows herself to be angry and critical. These sharp moments are coupled with ones of profound tenderness from He, who is gentle and considerate. One senses that He must have had patience to stay in the marriage for so long.

The production is beautifully directed by Peter Pasyk, who keeps a delicate hand on the gradual reveal of how loving this troubled couple once was, what drove them apart, and what remains that still binds them. The set, created by Patrick Lavender, is all white: floor, walls, chairs, wastepaper basket, and watercooler, as if we are in a cold, sterile science lab examining a specimen of marriage and grief.

Playwright Lot Vekemans has written a meditation on these subjects; how grief can lead one partner to freedom and keep the other stuck, wallowing, unable to move. At one point He sings She the song that saved him: “It Must Be So” from Candide, in which a man laments he’s lost everything but that “there is a sweetness in every woe.” The song might reflect his optimistic attitude and his efforts to comfort her.

No one shows up from the cemetery to discuss the important matter with He and She, giving them a chance to have a conversation they should have had years before. Is this an obvious ploy in the playwriting? Perhaps. But the play is so well written, giving such a searing examination of grief and the damage it causes, and the production is so fine, I didn’t care.

For tickets or more information, click here.

Lynn Slotkin
WRITTEN BY

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

Comments

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


/
Production photo of Just For One Day at Mirvish. iPhoto caption: Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

REVIEW: Mirvish’s Just For One Day gives Live Aid the showchoir treatment

It’s a group effort to a rather incredible degree — many of the songs are essentially riff battles, with the singers hot-potatoing the melody around.

By Liam Donovan
Production photo of A Streetcar Named Desire at Theatre Calgary. iPhoto caption: Photo by Nanc Price.

REVIEW: A Streetcar Named Desire pulls into Theatre Calgary for the first time in over two decades

You’ll find everything you might expect from a take on A Streetcar Named Desire: sensuality, top-notch performances, and all.

By Eve Beauchamp
Production photo of Cliff Cardinal's CBC Special. iPhoto caption: Photo by Henry Chan.

REVIEW: Cliff Cardinal’s CBC Special is a real gem

Cliff Cardinal’s CBC Special may not broadcast on Canadian television, but it is, indeed, quite special.

By Ryan Borochovitz

REVIEW: La Reine-garçon hits like an avalanche at the COC

This co-production between the Canadian Opera Company and the Opéra de Montréal is eminently watchable.

By Liam Donovan
iPhoto caption: Photo by Curtis Perry.

REVIEW: In Why It’s (im)Possible at GCTC, parenting is an ever-evolving process

In the context of an increasingly difficult political and social climate for trans youth, Why It’s (im)Possible addresses the need for familial support.

By Alexa MacKie
Production photo from Who's Afraid of Virignia Woolf? at Canadian Stage. iPhoto caption: Photo by Dahlia Katz.

REVIEW: Detailed design anchors confident Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Canadian Stage

Tasked for the second time in a year with filling the titanic canvas of the Bluma Appel Theatre, director Brendan Healy opts for hundreds of little strokes over a single massive one.

By Liam Donovan