Review: WIDE AWAKE HEARTS at The Gladstone in Ottawa

The Gladstone’s 2023-2024 season opened last night with WOW Factory’s presentation of Wide Awake Hearts, directed by Peter James Haworth. Penned by Canadian playwright, Brendan Gall, the show’s tag line states that it is “[a] nightmare. About a Film. About Love.” This sums it up quite accurately.

In Wide Awake Hearts, a screenwriter (David Whiteley) believes that his wife (Vivian Burns) is in love with his oldest friend (Nicholas Dave Amott), an actor. Even though the trio have not seen each other for many years, the writer invites the friend to star in his steamy new film – alongside his wife. It is hard to wrap our heads around why someone would do this unless they were some sort of sadomasochist. A short time later, the writer laments that he believes that his wife and the actor are sleeping together... but does he mean on film or in real life? The line between reality and fiction starts to become blurred.

Sometime later, we meet the film’s new editor (Tifanni Kenny), who also happens to be the actor’s on-again, off-again girlfriend. The editor declares that science indicates true love only grows for the first six months of any relationship. After that, the longer a relationship lasts, the more couples must recall the love that is stored in their memory. But is recalled love still love, or does that love no longer exist outside of our memories?

The characters also speak of loving someone while simultaneously hating them, evoking the old saying that there is a fine line between love and hate. We get more insight into the writer’s character from his wife's perspective. In a nightmare, she sees herself chasing someone with a gun into the night… but is the person being chased her husband? Or is she chasing herself? She recalls another time when she had a near-death experience; her husband was at least partly responsible. So does she love her husband or does she hate him? Or does she hate herself for loving him?

That the characters are nameless implies that they could be anyone and everyone, but it also makes it more difficult to relate to them as individuals. The female characters are more sympathetic than their male counterparts, as they seem to be suffering from emotional abuse at the hands of their partners. The male characters, while manipulative, also show their weaknesses and inner anguish, which stops them from being entirely unlikeable.

We don’t get answers to any of the questions that arise throughout Wide Awake Hearts, and the whole thing feels like some sort of psychological experiment. With less talented actors, the production could have been a mess, but the actors have enough chemistry to keep the show’s energy flowing for its 90-minute runtime, and the final scene is superbly staged.

Because the show contains mature content and some coarse language, it may not be appropriate for all ages. Wide Awake Hearts in on stage now through September 3rd at The Gladstone. Click the link for more information and to find out how to get tickets for this intriguing, thought-provoking production.

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