Blink: A Star is born on the Ottawa Stage

 

Blink  by Phil Porter, a Plosive Theatre production

After performances in the UK, New York, all through Europe in multiple languages and even right here in Montreal, Blink by Phil Porter is presently in Ottawa in its English Canadian premier which is quite a feat for this Plosive theatre production playing at the Gladstone.  Blink  concerns  human relations as they develop through  virtual reality in our current society where  we can no longer escape  I -phones,  smart phones, tablets, texting and all forms of mediated communication that have taken over interpersonal exchange.  Paradoxically  however,  this show, which introduces us to a brilliant new actress  who has been studying and performing in UK,  leaves us  with a resounding sense of the “real-reality”  of the stage  because she incarnates her character’s physical and emotional presence so thoroughly

Blink  is a two hander where a delicate and beautiful relationship between Jonah  (David Whiteley) and Sophie (Gabriella Gadsby) evolves through the technology that has been set up in their own apartments. The situation is simple. They are in the East of London, She has come down from the Isle of Man, he comes from a northern farming community (already the mix of accents poses a tremendous problem). Her father with whom she was very close has died.  Jonah tells us about his youth on the farm in a family where the Book of Common Prayer was the moral and ethical basis of their lives so he has lead a very sheltered life.  He is renting a flat in Sophie’s house but he does not  not know Sophie  and certainly does not realize where she lives.

The first part of the show sets up their family backgrounds, how they turned up in London.   Speaking to the audience since they are both alone in their flats and imagining much of the situation, Sophie sends  Jonah  a “screen”  (a tablet?) where he can see her as she films her activity in her own flat but he still does not realize that she can also see him nor does he realize that she lives upstairs. Each character is then almost a figment of the other’s imagination as their sense of  the “other” reality is nurtured by the technology

From then on things develop at a rather rapid pace and that is where the important meanings of the play begin to take shape.  In spite of the physical distance they seem to draw closer and closer and the emotional responses become so close  that at times we wonder if Jonah  is being transformed by this  new reality .  Since he has  never had any relationship with a woman nor any experience with  this new technology,  we wonder if is this strange new situation is turning him into  a voyeur, or even an obsessed potential lover?.   Does she sense this or is she also becoming fonder and fonder of someone she has never met but whom she seems to know more and more  intimately.  They are possibly being  set up by  all the technology surrounding us nowadays  as the  playwright   very  deftly analyses , identifies , and pinpoints all the  human feelings involved  until  he suggests that   virtual reality  is perhaps stronger than  the traditional reality we have been accustomed to. The conclusion raises many questions  in this sense thus the  play leads  to a  rather disturbing ending.

David  Whiteley was able to grasp the naïve and quiet nature of Jonah   but the strength of Gabriella Gadsby’s performance  flowed so naturally at all times that she created a perfect osmosis between actor and character and overpowered her partner .   Whiteley in this context always seemed to be a bit awkward . That  was of course the  nature of his character  but there was the  feeling that the actor was making an enormous effort  to be natural which was not helped by the fact that he kept losing his accent whereas Gadsby maintained hers  all the way through, even switching to a German accent at one point! The set maintained the  sense of enclosed space  that accompanies contemporary technology  by installing a  video  which took us  outside the stage world and gave the outer world an even stranger glow.  There is an emotional surprise involving  the set at one point which I will not reveal but it worked very well.

Teri Loretto-Valentik orchestrated the situation  and kept the production moving briskly, respecting all the changes in tone and rhythm but still, it was the actress  who stole the show. I hope this actress will return soon in a nice juicy role where she can show us the full measure of her talent, which I suspect is quite  wonderful

Blink by Phil Porter plays until April 15.

Director Teri  Loretto – Valentik

Lighting Laura Wheeler

Costumes   The Company

Set pieces David Whiteley

Sound projections Fiona Currie

Theatre Ninja  Kat Wong

CastL   David Whiteley  as Jonah

Gabriella  Gadsby  as Sophie

Winston as Teddy

A production of Plosive theatre