Scapegoat Carnivale's RICKI Comes to Centaur Theatre's Wildside Festival

Acclaimed theatre company Scapegoat Carnivale is honoured to present the world premiere of Ricki in Centaur Theatre's Wildside Festival. The play is a darkly absurd fable about the trials of a woman who with her ten-year-old son moves to Montreal to rebuild their lives after the loss of her husband and home; a bittersweet examination of the conflicts between parents and children as they struggle against monsters, both real and imaginary. Ricki is co-directed by company Co-Artistic Directors Alison Darcy & Joseph Shragge, who is also the playwright. Ricki runs from January 31 to February 3 (preview Jan. 30). To encourage dialogue, Scapegoat Carnivale will hold a moderated talkback on Fri. Feb. 2 with eminent American scholar Michael M. Chemers, whose work focuses on monsters in theatre history. The play includes mature themes fused with humour.

Joseph Shragge wrote the play leading up to the birth of his first child as an exploration of parental anxiety, and a fascination with how children use fantasy to help face instability. Here, the mother/son relationship is tested by a mysterious arrival at their doorstep. The show explores the shifting power dynamics between parent and child and exaggerates the search for parent substitutes. Ricki draws on horror movie tropes and the bizarre to offer a portrait of resilience. “The play is definitely on the weirder side. I was surprised we were accepted to the festival, but appreciated Wildside Festival curator Rose Plotek's encouragement that this fit with their vision,” said Shragge.

The nuclear family is ever shape-shifting. Changes, voluntary or not, whether they be in family structure, moving homes, or oncoming adolescence, can be overwhelming. “Transformations can be emotional and psychological, but they can also be physical.  They can reveal the beasts inside,” said Alison Darcy. “I am captivated by the inventiveness, humour and humanity of the show."

 

Ricki features an award-winning cast. Jon Lachlan Stewart plays the drug dealer/creature, the most demanding physical stage work he's ever done. A single parent himself, he relates to the tension arising watching your child grow and gain autonomy. “It's mysterious to see a personality develop and their individual will become apparent,” he said.  Julie Tamiko Manning, who plays Woman, has been in a number of Scapegoat Carnivale shows, “I'm drawn to the writing which is always so sharp, and the challenging work. What speaks most to me is the re-creation of what the idea of family is, post-family,” said Manning. The son is played by Gabe Maharjan who has enjoyed developing the piece over time with the company, “It's a treat to perform Shragge's play. Ricki will have people laughing and it will definitely get audiences thinking,” they shared.

 

Sophie El-Assaad designed the monster, a zoological chimera. She is excited to expand her artistic practice with this, her most elaborate costume challenge so far. For El-Assaad, the monster is all of us, “It is a representation of humans' innate greed, selfishness and inability to change; what every child unfortunately becomes to survive the world,” said El-Assaad. 

On a raised stage, the scenography comes together to highlight the surreal character of the piece, with set, costume and prop designer Marie-Eve Fortier; lighting designer Paul Chambers; and sound designer Troy Slocum. Choreographer Andrew Turner harnessed the monster's movement and interaction with the actors. The stage manager is Charlie Cohen and dramaturgy is by Deena Aziz.

 

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