Review 'Fourplay'

Not every play in the creatively titled Fourplay works, but the two that do are dazzlers.

This collection of 3 one-act pieces plus a fourth intermission play makes for an unconventional evening in theatre.  The program begins with Marisa Ship's satirical look at self-help workshops. The strength and weakness of Better Living is that it is essentially a one-joke piece but the author stretches it past the breaking point. There are many funny lines along the way, but the play doesn't so much end as grind to a halt, like a spring wound toy winding down.

The two acts that make up the absurdist Cat Punch George are presented in the lobby of the theatre during the intermissions. Unfortunately the lobby at Studio Erindale is small and affords no real sightlines. That the piece is staged with the actors sitting in easy chairs is particularly unfortunate because anyone standing in the second row or behind simply cannot see them and the David Mamet-style rapid-fire dialogue whizzes by so fast as to become unintelligible.

Back inside we are treated to two outstanding pieces. The first is called SNAP! Conor Walton offers a harrowing portrait of a young man trying cope with what appears to be a recurring nightmare, until the source of his anxiety is revealed to be all too real. Walton wrote and performs this piece with frightening intensity.

Then Marisa Ship's second play of the evening, AD 450 Pilot presents a genuinely funny yet equally disturbing look at a first time meeting of two people who connected through a personal ad. Here Tristan Frank James Bell scores early on with his nervous stammer, but Sabrina Campbell goes for the kill with her portrayal of a date from hell.

The performances and writing of these last two pieces are vivid and compelling and if the other two are less successful, it is certainly not due to any lack of talent.

Showcases such as these give young performers and authors a chance to try out their works on audiences and learn what works and what doesn't. Along the way we gain some insights into the minds of some unorthodox characters. 

Fourplay continues to Saturday, August 30, 2008. All performances take place at 8 pm in Erindale Studio Theatre at the University of Toronto Mississauga campus. For tickets call the box office at 905-569-4369.