Residential evil
Persephone Productions' SubUrbia delves into the dark side of the 'burbs
by AMY BARRATT
The goddess from whom Persephone Productions take their name spent half the year in the Underworld. The 'burbs may not be hell, but in Eric Bogosian's vision, SubUrbia, currently playing at the Monument-National, they come pretty close.
The play, first performed in New York in 1994, focuses on five friends, a few years out of high school, still hanging out on the corner trying to decide what, if anything, to do with their lives. Maybe because so much that's going on in 2004 is a déja vu of the early '90s - a war in Iraq and racially motivated crimes, to name a couple - the play doesn't feel dated at all.
Persephone's mandate has always been to showcase local actors in plays with "literary and social significance." A British ex-pat, company founder Gabrielle Soskin has often produced British plays. This time out, Soskin has chosen a play that is much more relevant to the lives of the young actors Persephone employs than to her own. With this subUrbia, she nails the bleak landscape - both physical and spiritual - of Burnfield, USA, or as one character calls it, "The pizza and puke capital of the world."
The action unrolls on a day like any other in the lives of these kids: eating slices and drinking Budweiser outside the convenience store run by a Pakistani immigrant who would prefer that they take their garbage and foul language elsewhere. The difference is that on this day, an old classmate of theirs - they can't seem to agree whether he was ever a friend - is returning in triumph to the old neighbourhood. "Pony" (Vincent Hoss-Desmarais) is the cheesily sincere lead singer in a band that plays to crowds of 20,000.
The only other member of the group to have attempted escape from Burnfield is Tim, who has returned bitter and broken (and a hopeless drunk) from a stint in the U.S. Air Force. Tim's experience of the world has narrowed rather than broadened his mind and if he has any defence against the charge of racism, it's that he hates everyone equally. Tim is Iago-like in the influence he holds over his friends, particularly the decent but cowardly Jeff (Paul Van Dyke).
Neil Napier anchors the cast - even at times overpowers it - in the role of Tim. Napier has been one of the busiest young actors on local stages, from Gravy Bath to Centaur to the Piggery, this past year and has never been less than memorable. His body builder's physique has often been useful to him from a technical standpoint, but here it is a weapon. There's clearly muscle behind the menace of his words and it makes this character genuinely frightening.
Persephone is doing its bit to showcase young actors. With shows the calibre of subUrbia, it deserves to attract that elusive young audience that everyone's talking about.
Reprinted from The Montreal Mirror September 30, 2004
The goddess from whom Persephone Productions take their name spent half the year in the Underworld. The 'burbs may not be hell, but in Eric Bogosian's vision, SubUrbia, currently playing at the Monument-National, they come pretty close.
The play, first performed in New York in 1994, focuses on five friends, a few years out of high school, still hanging out on the corner trying to decide what, if anything, to do with their lives. Maybe because so much that's going on in 2004 is a déja vu of the early '90s - a war in Iraq and racially motivated crimes, to name a couple - the play doesn't feel dated at all.
Persephone's mandate has always been to showcase local actors in plays with "literary and social significance." A British ex-pat, company founder Gabrielle Soskin has often produced British plays. This time out, Soskin has chosen a play that is much more relevant to the lives of the young actors Persephone employs than to her own. With this subUrbia, she nails the bleak landscape - both physical and spiritual - of Burnfield, USA, or as one character calls it, "The pizza and puke capital of the world."
The action unrolls on a day like any other in the lives of these kids: eating slices and drinking Budweiser outside the convenience store run by a Pakistani immigrant who would prefer that they take their garbage and foul language elsewhere. The difference is that on this day, an old classmate of theirs - they can't seem to agree whether he was ever a friend - is returning in triumph to the old neighbourhood. "Pony" (Vincent Hoss-Desmarais) is the cheesily sincere lead singer in a band that plays to crowds of 20,000.
The only other member of the group to have attempted escape from Burnfield is Tim, who has returned bitter and broken (and a hopeless drunk) from a stint in the U.S. Air Force. Tim's experience of the world has narrowed rather than broadened his mind and if he has any defence against the charge of racism, it's that he hates everyone equally. Tim is Iago-like in the influence he holds over his friends, particularly the decent but cowardly Jeff (Paul Van Dyke).
Neil Napier anchors the cast - even at times overpowers it - in the role of Tim. Napier has been one of the busiest young actors on local stages, from Gravy Bath to Centaur to the Piggery, this past year and has never been less than memorable. His body builder's physique has often been useful to him from a technical standpoint, but here it is a weapon. There's clearly muscle behind the menace of his words and it makes this character genuinely frightening.
Persephone is doing its bit to showcase young actors. With shows the calibre of subUrbia, it deserves to attract that elusive young audience that everyone's talking about.
Reprinted from The Montreal Mirror September 30, 2004