Women bound by love and jealousy
By Julia Gerke, The Suburban
Mothers and daughters have a special bond, one that is often marked by satisfying, deep love, teaching and understanding. Sometimes, though, that relationship can be ruined by competition, jealousy and resentment.
All of these emotional undertones come out in full force in Nancy Huston's moving and tragic Prodigy, an English world premiere presented this week by Persephone Productions at Theatre Ste. Catherine.
Calgary-born French writer Huston penned the emotional journey of three generations of women in her novella Prodige. It was adapted to the French stage by Gabriel Garran and Huston personally translated it into English for this production.
Prodigy is set in Paris, France, where expectant mother and failed pianist Lara teaches music at the conservatory. When her daughter Maya is born three months premature, Lara refuses to let her die and visits her daily in the hospital. Her obsession with the baby alienates her husband, and the marriage ends. She moves in with her mother Sofia, and over the years, the two women and the young girl share a deep love and devotion to music. Eventually Maya shows signs of being a “prodigy,” the next generation's wunderkind at the piano and her mother has to face her feelings of jealousy.
The story spins around the three women's complex relationships, their emotional instability and the lasting power of family ties. Artistic director Gabrielle Soskin directs Prodigy with an insightful hand and brings out the best in the three stars: Karen Cromar's portrayal of Sofia, who immigrated to France from Russia, is touching, and Amelia Sargisson exudes energy as 10-year-old Maya. The emotional core of the play lies in Nathalie Stechysin's Lara, whose performance stays with the viewer long after the finals bows.
The intimate stage at Theatre Ste. Catherine provides a fitting backdrop to the play. Set and costume designer Lyne Paquette keeps it simple. A white grand piano fills the stage — symbolic of how it dominates the characters' life. Sound designers Bistra Ivanov and Marcela Zorro, as well as lighting designer Joshua Lamb make the series of monologues and dialogues come together seamlessly. The two male characters, a doctor and Maya's father, are present only in the form of recorded voices (Brian Wrench and Lowell Gasoi, respectively), and their absence on stage further deepens the focus on the three women.
This is a gratifying theatre experience, especially, but not exclusively for women, and one that pushes the audience to reassess their own relationships within the family.
2006-04-05
Mothers and daughters have a special bond, one that is often marked by satisfying, deep love, teaching and understanding. Sometimes, though, that relationship can be ruined by competition, jealousy and resentment.
All of these emotional undertones come out in full force in Nancy Huston's moving and tragic Prodigy, an English world premiere presented this week by Persephone Productions at Theatre Ste. Catherine.
Calgary-born French writer Huston penned the emotional journey of three generations of women in her novella Prodige. It was adapted to the French stage by Gabriel Garran and Huston personally translated it into English for this production.
Prodigy is set in Paris, France, where expectant mother and failed pianist Lara teaches music at the conservatory. When her daughter Maya is born three months premature, Lara refuses to let her die and visits her daily in the hospital. Her obsession with the baby alienates her husband, and the marriage ends. She moves in with her mother Sofia, and over the years, the two women and the young girl share a deep love and devotion to music. Eventually Maya shows signs of being a “prodigy,” the next generation's wunderkind at the piano and her mother has to face her feelings of jealousy.
The story spins around the three women's complex relationships, their emotional instability and the lasting power of family ties. Artistic director Gabrielle Soskin directs Prodigy with an insightful hand and brings out the best in the three stars: Karen Cromar's portrayal of Sofia, who immigrated to France from Russia, is touching, and Amelia Sargisson exudes energy as 10-year-old Maya. The emotional core of the play lies in Nathalie Stechysin's Lara, whose performance stays with the viewer long after the finals bows.
The intimate stage at Theatre Ste. Catherine provides a fitting backdrop to the play. Set and costume designer Lyne Paquette keeps it simple. A white grand piano fills the stage — symbolic of how it dominates the characters' life. Sound designers Bistra Ivanov and Marcela Zorro, as well as lighting designer Joshua Lamb make the series of monologues and dialogues come together seamlessly. The two male characters, a doctor and Maya's father, are present only in the form of recorded voices (Brian Wrench and Lowell Gasoi, respectively), and their absence on stage further deepens the focus on the three women.
This is a gratifying theatre experience, especially, but not exclusively for women, and one that pushes the audience to reassess their own relationships within the family.
2006-04-05