Review Roundup: Canadian Premiere of STRANGERS, BABIES

By: May. 24, 2017
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Can society ever let go of the past? Theatre PANIK presents the Canadian premiere of STRANGERS, BABIES by Award-winning Scottish playwright Linda McLean, May 11 - May 28, 2017 at Artscape Sandbox.

The play will be presented in a unique space, with limited seating. Audience members follow the action by peeping into motel rooms, spying on characters, and piecing together clues - making each experience unique.

Check out the reviews below!

The Star (Karen Fricker): There is nonetheless a disconnect - perhaps purposeful - between the dark truth that eventually lands and the clean, clinical nature of the environment and the reassuringly bourgeois world it evokes. Emphasis on the audience feeling safe and well-instructed through the viewing experience - down to gallery-like exhibition labels and projections identifying characters and the timing of each scene, which would not have featured in a conventional staging - may be blocking a certain sense of yucky foreboding which would have led the penny to drop sooner, at least for me.

Mooney on Theatre (Vance Brews): One benefit is the simple experience. This is a piece that has to be seen to truly appreciate. No review can give a reasonable breakdown of the plot, characters or even the sets as each of those becomes a personal experience for the viewer, their own perspective influencing how they see the show. Did they sit down at one of the benches present in most of the installations? Did they stand? Were they close to the action or far away? Did they only see the face of one of the performers during a scene? All of these things can adjust or influence how the show is interpreted and that's not even counting personal worldview in how characters are approached by the audience. It's a heady experience and one that had me thinking all the way home about how I felt about the show.

Jordan Bimm (Now Magazine): The audience can explore the well-designed and decorated space freely during the performance (tip: pack light or find a place to stow your bag and coat before the action starts), but for the most part at the performance I saw, everyone followed May and remained stationary for the duration of each scene.



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