A unified vision and deft artistic team make The Butcher a memorable play

Photo: Andrew Alexander

An old man, clearly drugged, shows up at a police station wearing a Santa hat and military uniform. A meat hook skewering a lawyer’s business card hangs around his neck. This is the jumping off point for The Butcher by Nicolas Billon, playing now at the Great Canadian Theatre Company. It’s a pretty enticing teaser to begin with, but the real success of the play is the fact that it found its way into the hands of an impressive artistic team. From direction to design to acting – there are a lot of reasons that The Butcher just works but at the heart of it is a shared vision.

To reveal too much of the script is a disservice to future audiences, so suffice it to say: This is a play that is not what it appears to be at its inception. Playwright Billon weaves an unexpected and affecting story that weighs in on some heavy ideas, while rooting them in well-crafted characters. It’s the characters that drive the play, and here the cast rises to the occasion.

The setting plays an essential role in Billon’s work, and Roger Schultz’s work as set designer deserves its own round of applause. The design is verisimilitude at its best and suits playwright Billon’s work perfectly. This gargantuan feat of construction spans the entire stage – from both wings to the ceiling—so that the stage becomes a totally self-contained police station lobby. The ceiling and “side-walls” create an ever-so-slight forced perspective that furthers the illusion. Even as you’re filing toward your seat before the play begins, the set stands as its own striking piece of art.

This production showcases an artistic team rallying around a strong piece of writing. The script circles around the importance of justice, and reveals its message both through dialogue and through the action of the play. There are so many moving parts here and Billon’s challenging piece finds great leadership in director Eric Coates’ hands. The script requires a sharp eye to balance the bread-trail that Billon creates for the audience, while not revealing its final hand.

There is a really difficult, uncomfortable level of violence. Darryl Bennett and Keith Thomas’ work as lighting designer and sound designer, respectively, endow moments of violence with a dreamlike quality. Lighting shifts to blue and string instruments crescendo, for example, and the violence feels like we’re looking at it through a lens. And then other times it’s laid bare in front of us without filter. The balance works very well.

That’s important because it’s at the heart of what this production is offering audience: A commentary on violence and intergenerational cycles of revenge. Billon’s script supposes a fictitious country – Lavinia – to generalize the story beyond that of any one specific country’s political situation. He even goes so far as to commission a non-existent Slavic language, courtesy of professors Christina Kramer and Dragana Obradović, that is intended to alienate its audience.

A special kudos to actor John Koensgen who plays the mysterious old man and manages to find and deliver the meaning behind the invented language, Lavinian. Koensgen’s comfort in this role is clear throughout the performance. Jonathan Koensgen, John’s real-life son, is equally convincing on stage, playing the intelligent and elusive lawyer, Hamilton Barnes. Samantha Madely plays the unyielding and shrewd Elena with great power. Actor Sean Devine takes on the role of Detective Lamb, who might the highlight in this performance.

This is a play that will sit with you long after the performance, as your brain does the work of untangling the truth from the illusions. This powerful play showcases an artistic team with a unified vision who’ve taken on a well-crafted script. Do not miss this production, though you may not want to eat before-hand.

The Butcher plays at the Great Canadian Theatre Company until March 20, 2016.

Nicolas Billon- Playwright
Eric Coates- Director

CAST
Sean Devine-  Detective Lamb
John Koensgen-  Josef Džibrilovo
Jonathan Koensgen-  Hamilton Barnes
Samantha Madely-  Elena
Maggie Mojsej-  Young Girl

CREATIVE TEAM
Roger Schultz- Set and Costume Designer
Darryl Bennett- Lighting Designer
Keith Thomas- Sound Designer
Gabrielle Lazarovitz- Assistant Director
Chantal Hayman-  Stage Manager
Sarah Nieman-  Apprentice Stage Manager