In the Unseen World: Important story in need of polishing
In the Unseen World, performed at the new LabO “black box” theatre space, is a devised theatre performance directed by University of Ottawa MFA directing student Vivi Sørensen. The piece is a reaction to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and the performance moves between a present day Inuk journalist writing a story on the topic and traditional myths. Sørensen, originally from Nuuk, Greenland, is particularly interested in working with storytelling, influenced by old Inuit stories she heard throughout her childhood. Her love of the form is evident in her mastery of it. The strongest and most beautiful parts of the performance are during the storytelling portions. So much so that the performance, which is full of potential, ends up uneven as a consequence.
Sørensen’s directing, along with her talented partners, creates an effective atmosphere, but perhaps partially due to the performance’s length – one hour – there doesn’t seem to be enough time for the modern day story and the myths. The latter ends up pushing aside the former and, as a result, the audience doesn’t get the chance to get close to the contemporary characters or care as much for their fate. This is unfortunate as the message, as so brilliantly shown by the final monologue, delivered passionately by Miali Buscemi, is one heartbreakingly worth shouting from every rooftop. While many in the audience were moved to tears, the fat if Buscemi’s character didn’t hold as much sway, precisely because we had only every gotten small snippets into her world and never got to care for her as much as we could.
Buscemi and Will Lafrance deliver reasonably strong performances, both playing multiple characters. Buscemi is particularly adept at conveying a sense of depth into her various characters, which is impressive, as we often only getting fleeting glimpses into their worlds. Lafrance takes a casual approach to most of his characters, which works well though can sometimes feel forced. Both are at their best during the myth-telling. Their energy and the depth of their characters increases and they drag you into their world.
Franci Pang and Trevor Teo’s light and sound design, respectively, are the standouts in the performance. Teo transforms the stage and shows us a world as diverse as city streets, the inside of mythical whales, and the enveloping waves with a large, clear plastic sheet suspended at various heights. Pang’s lighting design helps transform Sasha Hayashi’s minimal and effective set’s time and place to great effect.
In the Unseen World is still a work in progress, and is meant to be viewed as such. It certainly has a lot of potential, and the topic it deals with is one that should be at the forefront of Canadians’ minds. It’s a great first step, and the idea to intertwine myths with contemporary events is brilliant. However, the connection between the two needs to be more clear, or the beautifully directed and acted myth storytelling overshadows the main message.
Actors:
Miali Buscemi
Will Lafrance
Crew
Director: Vivi Sørensen
Lighting design: Franco Pang
Sound design: Trevor Teo
Set design: Sasha Hayashi
Stage production and management: Thalia Paterson
Costumes: Emily Payeur
Props: Alisha Cooke
Sound operator: Ryan Ethrir