Kanata Theatre balances comedy and serious intent in first-class production
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
By Christopher Durang
Kanata Theatre
Directed by Jim Holmes
Take a helping of Chekhovian despair to spice the lives of three discontented siblings named after characters from the 19th-century playwright’s works. Stir in a blender and deliver a modern domestic drama with absurdist leanings.
This may not sound like the ideal starting point for a satirical comedy/serious assessment of the purpose of life, but in the hands of Christopher Durang — the incisive and controversial author of such dramas as Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All to You — his 2012 Tony award-winning Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is both funny and thought-provoking. …