Photo from Gigcity. ca (The production in Edmonton).

I might say something that many would not like here. In general I like the idea of putting a magical realism piece on the stage. It is rarely done, simply because it is exceptionally difficult. But, then, that can be said for any genre that is not concerned with a classical concept in storytelling. Now, to transfer a genre like this to a completely different medium, like theatre, takes a lot of knowledge and experience. Certainly, it cannot be done “word by word.” I respect Evolution Theatre because they are not afraid of challenging tasks, they experiment, and, above all, they bring to the Ottawa the theatre scene what it needs – new concepts and a daring approach. Their latest play Hroses: An Affront to Reason (in aco-production with Mi Casa theatre) proved to be all that.

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Photo. Marianne Duval

Ivona is probably the most unlikely bride-to-be for a prince. She is a commoner, ugly, slouchy, highly unsociable, and has no manners at all. Still, the young prince, bored with the every-day palace life, chooses her for her fiancé. At first she serves as an object of practical jokes for courtiers and the reason for despair for his royal parents. As time goes by, it seems that this insignificant creature gets in everybody’s way. It is not the inconvenience of her presence or her sloppy ways that bother the courtiers. Day after day, gradually, Ivona manages to bring out their worst in her peers, and even worse, she begins to remind them of their own carefully hidden faults. By the end, she is too much for everybody’s comfort, and the decision is unanimous: Ivona must die.

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  Annik Léger . Photo Mathieu Girard 

Two people in an old school situated somewhere in Northern Ontario start a game of alphabet. One says a word and the other spells it. She is a teacher; he is a demolition worker. His job is to demolish the old school building and her intention is to save it, even at the cost of her own life. Because she is a teacher who used to teach in this school and whose life revolved around generations of kids for so long that it became the essence of her life, she can’t allow others to destroy it. So now, she stands inside the school armed with dynamite stuck to her belt, ready to push the button and blow everything up, including herself. It soon becomes apparent that these two have known each other for a long time and that they share a history of love, denial and secrets. The situation gets more and more complicated with each word spelt, reaching its culmination with the last letter.   

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For a little bit over an hour while watching the Little Orange Man, I was trying to understand what the show was about. I’m still trying and, I must admit, failing.

Ingrid Hansen plays 12 year old  Kitt whose imagination, helped by Hans Andersen’s fairy tales that her beloved grandfather used to read to her, transports the audience to the wild and hyperactive time of childhood. Kitt uses everything that could fit in a lunch box and a trunk to convey the story. Everything is there: pieces of food, puppets, a lamp, a hat a suit, and a shiny bike helmet. The only thing missing is the story.

The performance is very physical. Hansen is energetic, talented and funny, as far as that part goes. Thanks to this, the show was a success. The audience rewarded the performer with a standing ovation and cheers. Unfortunately, except for effective use of different objects, nothing really worked. It felt like a collection of a few randomly picked stories, or rather, the beginning of a few unfinished stories. Kitt, supposedly 12, sounds more like a 7 year old, and for some reason, has a speech problem. The whole thing is unnecessarily long, tiring and, due to utter lack of direction, confusing.

 

Little Orange Man   Produced by: SNAFU Theatre

Created by: Kathleen Greenfield and Ingrid Hansen

Performed by: Ingrid Hansen

Plays at: St. Paul’s Eastern