The Ultraviolet Life: Dancing in the dark
My biggest question after taking in The Ultraviolet Life is what’s this play about? Whatever is going on in this production is still buried deep in the unconscious world of its creators.
Burlesque, of course, has been around since the Greeks. The satyr play featured vigorous leaping, horse-play, and lewd pantomime – all of which we get in The Ultraviolet Light. Though in tiny bits and pieces. So, if that is the intention, we’re on the right track. But what is going on?
Well the main character, Violet, played with a suitably inquiring air by Tiffani Kenny, has a problem; some sort of medical issue that requires regular immersions in the ultraviolet light. She is undressed and dressed by the Nurse, played by Karine Duffy, who offers few hints as to the purpose of the treatments. And Violet doesn’t explain things to her Lover, Ashford Sabastian Callender. So we get a lot of dialogue that goes like this: “Tell me why you’re here?” Or, “I don’t know where to start.” Or, “I’m here to help.” Followed by: “To do what exactly?” The characters in Ultra Violet Life simply don’t seem to know what is going on. If I took a stab at describing the plot, I’d be making it up.
What is promising about this production is the fact that we’re definitely cruising the outer edges of interesting and important emotional territory. A life struggle is on display, and the characters that accompany Violet as she tries to work out her problem are drawn from the Burlesque. Which is fascinating. Three characters in particular give us a hint of Ultraviolet Life’s potential, and they are the Doctors, played by Caleb Robinson, Ashford Sabastian Callender, and Alis Goddard. Their entrance and subsequent hovering over Violet is genuinely spooky. Sporting El Capitano’s signature long nose are they performing surgery? But what for? And there is another character orbiting Violet, Skin, played by Katrina Soroka, who executes the admirable acrobatic moves ending with the splits. But why is she there? Nothing wrong with giving the audience just a teeney tiny bit of a clue. We’re not all mime readers.
Now, our playwright/director, Maria-Hélèna Pacelli knows what she’s about. Her musings on art, women, and everything in between are interesting explorations. And Burlesque is a great aesthetic to weave into a play: sexuality, a history of skewering conventional views, and fabulous costumes. Burlesque is about personal expression and therefore liberating for the individual, not a form of subjugation. I get that. But Ultra Violet’s admittedly sensual and deliberately campy potpourri of clipped dialogue, images, and choreography deserves more thought. The play is only forty minutes long, so it can grow. But in its next incarnation The Ultra Violet Light needs to answer one of the questions posed by the play itself: “What are you anyway?”
Photomirage Productions
Playing at Academic Hall
written and directed by Maria-Hélèna Pacelli
Cast:
Violet: Tiffani Kenny
Skin: Katrina Soroka
Nurse: Karine Duffy
Lover: Ashford Sabastian Callender
Oracle: Karla Turkowsky
Death: Simone de Beaucoup
Doctors: Caleb Robinson, Ashford Sabastian Callender, Alis Goddard
Choreography: Rhapsody Blue
Costumes: Vanessa Passmore
Makeup: Caleb Robinson Art
Lighting: Kevin Da Ponte
Sound: Neal Sundet (Meech Creek Studio)
Stage Manager: Hayley Dennis.