Review: WORLD ON FIRE at The Assembly Theatre

There is value in simplicity, and World on Fire, mounted by a new company, The World on Fire Theatre Collective, leans into that value with honest, straightforward storytelling brought to life by engaging, relatable performances. 

This new company specializes in mounting the works of celebrated Canadian playwright George F. Walker and is opening with a new play directed by the playwright. There is always a special excitement to attending the premiere of a brand new piece with the author in control of how it is interpreted.

World on Fire weaves together numerous themes that the current state of global chaos revolves around. We are in a mental healthcare setting where it feels like the inmates are running the asylum. Not only does this context create a forum for addressing issues central to the literal healthcare crisis, but the metaphor about the state of society also speaks for itself.

Each person receiving treatment has a story that is over-the-top but tragically credible. Each personal experience is connected to systemic social rot. David’s (David Huban) suicidality is grounded in the intergenerational trauma of the Holocaust. Casey (Anne Van Leewen) screams about feminism and social justice at passersby because of her experiences with profound and pervasive misogynistic violence. Annie (Marline Yan), unhoused since the age of 13, lashes out at those ostensibly trying to help her as she crumbles under the weight of all of the causes of youth alienation. We never find out exactly why Marius (Chris Peterson) is so full of fear, so we are free to fill in the blanks with the many known contemporary causes of existential dread. 

Meanwhile, their care providers, psychiatrist Dr. Emilio (Alex Clay) and social worker Jules (Elizabeth Friesen), seem badly in need of mental healthcare themselves for narcissism and care provider burnout, respectively. 

While each person is clearly and meaningfully connected to a social theme, none of them feels like stock characters standing in for a concept. Each performer clearly understood the character's entire backstory and brought the role to life with humanity and individuality. There was also a strong command of movement and body language, bringing each character to life. For example, Marline Yan seemed larger than her body with palpable dysphoric energy when communicating Annie’s hysterical desperation for love and acceptance. Similarly, Anne van Leewen’s disjointed jerky movements conveyed broken vulnerability and the perpetual disconnection from the body of one accustomed to a lifetime of dissociating from trauma. 

World on Fire was mounted at The Assembly Theatre, an intimate black-box venue in Parkdale that allows us to feel as if we were inside the clinic and lends itself well to humorous instances of fourth-wall smashing in the script. 

Reader Reviews

To post a comment, you must register and login.