25: Well-realized portraits of youth at a crossroads…..
With the voice of a young man calling out “Hello?” against the backdrop of a completely darkened stage, Paris, France-based company 1919’s production of 25 immediately piques one’s curiosity. It only takes a few moments for another voice (that of a young woman’s) to answer the man. Back and forth, the two debate the whereabouts of the man’s long-lost parents. Yet what at first seems to be a child’s quest to find his parents turns out to be much more, as soon as the scene ends and the lights come on, enabling the actors to present an altogether different scenario. In this play, two actors (Elliot Delage, also the creator; and Anastasia Wells) take on the roles of 12 characters in total together, who each have one thing in common: being young adults who are faced with difficult choices and circumstances. According to the Fringe program and Delage himself, each of the characters are attempting to find purpose while at the “crossroads of life.”
While there’s certainly a narrative thread that runs through the stories of these characters and links their scenes together somehow, it’s not one that is made especially clear or significant until the end. Rather, it is the individual scenes themselves that depict realistic and relatable conflicts between people from which the show draws its strength. Some of the most effective in this regard are the scenes chronicling the deterioration of a relationship between a carefree young office worker and his pregnant wife and the verbal arguments between two siblings over who was there the most for their father in his final days. Other scenes express peculiar kinds of philosophy: a dancer chiding a surgeon for her alleged superior attitude by saying that nobody’s life matters anyway in an uncaring universe seems oddly nihilistic, for instance (as well as its thematic connection to the other conflicts depicted rather uncertain).
The presentation of these diverse scenes, however, is not lacking: both actors are able to switch roles at ease and change in the costumes speedily by conveniently placed racks at each end of the stage. Lighting is also strong in this production, as it is appropriately focused for the dramatic atmosphere of each scene. As a performance, 25 is quite competent; as a narrative, however, more coherence would benefit it.
25 continues at the ODD Box in the Arts Court Theatre until June 24. For tickets and show times, see http://ottawafringe.com/shows/25/