By Amy Van Veen (The Cascade) – Email
The Bald Soprano
By Eugene Ionesco
Directed by Heather Robertson (UFV)
Running time: 45 minutes
Showings: Saturday 7:50 p.m. and Sunday 5:15 p.m.
Memorable lines: “He was the handsomest corpse in Great Britain.”
“I travelled second class, madam. There is no second class in England but I always travel second class.”
You know when something is so ridiculous you can’t help but laugh?
Enter The Bald Soprano, or rather enter a painting of a bald soprano in front of a union jack with a ticking clock and four chairs – that was the view for audience members as they clamored inside the intimate studio space. Lights went down, lights went up and there sat an odd-looking group of six characters – a moment of ruffled shirts, velvet blazers and teased bouffants before they all scattered in surprise.
As with every other play I attended this directors’ festival, I went in knowing nothing about the plot or the history of the play itself, but within seconds the absurdity is clearly evident. Mr. and Mrs. Smith begin their quick-paced, head-turning dialogue – or rather Mrs. Smith does as Mr. Smith has a problem getting a word in edgewise. A little while later Mr. and Mrs. Martin show up followed soon after by Mr. Fire Chief and punctuated by the occasional presence of the maid. But truly, the plot hardly matters; it’s the dialogue that takes centre stage.
The cast of UFV theatre alumni did an excellent job in the sincere articulation of the confusing tumble of words and the commitment to the clearly unstable characters. Their use of space was demanding and confident. And the audience couldn’t help but feel a part of the bizarre dinner party unfolding before them. As members of the dinner party, then, the audience was entirely committed to the ridiculous – following the logic of the illogical trains of thought that burn around the space in front of them and getting entirely caught up with every glance of an eye and every snap of a finger.
It’s was a light and pleasurable 45 minutes that made complete sense in the most nonsensical way possible.
