Du 5 au 16 novembre 2008

Almost Blue

Texte de Keith Reddin
Mise en scène de Carolyn Fe
Avec Rick Bel, Anisa Cameron, Vance De Waele and Patrick Goddard

In this ‘stage noir’, four people are stuck in a place they desperately need to get out of. We are slowly drawn into the lives of Phil- just out of prison; Blue- a lonely pornography ghostwriter; Steve- an ex-con needing to settle scores; and Liz- a beautiful woman in trouble, as they edge into a dirty web of lies and mind games. Written in a series of brutal, funny encounters, Almost Blue is a journey into the dark night, full of plot twists and sultry exchanges.

With arts and culture in the forefront these days, Carolyn hope the audience is as moved as she is by the play and the power of theatre in general, “If it wasn’t for the arts, we’d remain unaware and numb about what goes on around us.” She confides she has learned to ask, “How can I make this better for you? Or simply, what have you gone through?” Carolyn would like audiences to look at the other side of the coin and to take action by calling Father René and volunteering for NEO-DEP. 

review by Sara Fauteux

After ‘Night Mother Altera Vitea Productions presents its second offering, Almos Blue. This show, as did the first one, addresses a social issue and associates itself with an organization that works to support the less privileged ones of our societies.  NEO-DEP (New departure – Nouveau départ) is an organization that was born out of Correctional Service Canada and that has as a mission to support former inmates reintegrating society.

In Almost Blue, Keith Reddin describes a dark universe where four awkward and troubled characters are linked in a mysterious story. Phil is just out of prison, haunted by his horrible story and trying desperately to stay straight. A beautiful woman tempts him. She is the wife of Steve, a man with whom Phil was incarcerated. Against everybody’s will, Phil’s concierge, Blue, sticks his nose into their business by trying to protect his tenant. 

Although we do feel the characters despair and their loneliness, it seems the intrigue installed by Reddin does not work wholly. The long period of introduction to the play, setting the relationships between the characters and their individual situation takes up more than half of the show. The plot is therefore introduced and resolved too rapidly to really catch our interest.  Some incoherence in the text also creates confusion and makes the spectator skeptical as to the realism of the whole story.

If we cannot help but admire and support the work of Altera Vitae, we also regret that they do not dispose of more financial resources to develop their projects.  This second production certainly offers some entertainment, but because of too many imperfections and flaws in all areas, it does not achieve its artistic mission as well as its social aim.

12-11-2008