You Fancy Yourself: A deft and funny dissection of self-in-the-making; A beatiful and witty play.

Reviewed by Dimitri and Vildana Stanisic-Keller

Photo of Maja Ardal by  Andrew Alexandre 

In this one-person-show by author/actress Maja Ardal, 11 characters are intermingled in the unlimited creativity of a superb storyteller. . You Fancy Yourself is a deft and funny dissection of self-in-the-making and a poem to the daydream we choose to escape to when reality is intolerable and unwelcoming. “You may fancy yourself safe and think yourself strong. But a chance tone of colour in a room or a morning sky, a particular perfume that you had once loved and that brings subtle memories with it, a line from a forgotten poem that you had come across again, a cadence from a piece of music that you had ceased to play… I tell you, that it is on things like these that our lives depend. ” This quote from Oscar Wilde (Portrait of Dorian Gray) seems extremely appropriate here.

We see how the story takes shape in reaction to unthinking, inhuman physical realities that isolate intimidate and confuse. From the first gaze at the traveling trunk/treasure box/casket on stage, we are invited to confront the darkness of the surrounding reality. The trunk takes us back to our own “hidden memories” where, without even lifting a lid, we feel, touch, smell and find a crowd of different faces and familiar things. As it “sucks us back” with the sound of a ship’s horn and a Norse song, the seasick four-year-old girl take us to Edinburgh almost 60 years earlier where Elsa emigrates with her father and mother from Iceland.

In her semi-autobiographical musing, Ardal takes us by the hand, leads us to “the land where no lullabies are born” and “colours are washed away”, where Elsa, a foreigner, desperately searches for the ways to fit-in and belong. She skilfully navigates through painful exclusions, rejections, bullying, disappointments, through the first crush and understanding that “the only thing that matters is loyalty

In this tribute to childhood, Ardal weaves all the threads that make us who we are and who we do not want to be, There is the stern teacher Miss Campbell, fuelled with the historical significance of her clan; there is the horsey girl’s circle hiding its ignorance with arrogance (They are inferior to Elsa intellectually and unimaginative, but are cruel bullies) or the Scrubbing lady who controls every attempt of playfulness. And then there are the friends: the shy but loyal Adele and potato-eared David MacDonald whose heart is aching with sorrow. This fellow gave up on learning, and became a gentle soul with a gift for singing, constantly tortured and bullied by the teacher because he is a descendant of the MacDonald clan massacred by the Campbell’s at Glencoe. Each of these characters is part of Ardal , contributing to Elsa’s own story through the actress’ seamless transformations from one character to another.

She brings to life their personalities, their accents, their body-language, she is a master chameleon who needs no masks, no wigs, no makeup and no props. She creates them all in front of us. A single costume in the first act could be the figure of any little girl looking for a playmate, an innocent and honest little person, while the costume of the second part of the evening shows a girl rooted in the Scottish social fabric, the girl with attitude and determination.

During ninety minutes, Ardal’s multiple characters and situations, produce dramatic tension that never falters. Mary Francis Moore’s directing is masterfully minimalist while Julia Tribe’s simple yet metaphorically crammed set, holds our interest and creates a wonderfully stimulating platform for Ardal’s efforts.

If you fancy yourself, hold a friendly hand and go see the play. It is definitely a harvest of riches!

You Fancy Yourself by Maja Ardal, directed by Mary Francis Moore

Contrary Company, Great Canadian Theatre Company, Ottawa

October 15-November 3, 2013