Whenever you think Verbatim Theatre, you think The Laramie Project. In 2000, Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theatre Project brought something startling and new to the theatre scene. This form had been attempted before but not with the finesse that Kaufman and his actors brought. In response to the brutal murder of gay student Matthew Sheppard, the theatre company conducted hundreds of interviews with inhabitants of the town of Laramie, made their own journal entries, and used published news reports. The play is divided into three acts, and an ensemble of 8 to 9 actors portray more than sixty characters in a series of short scenes.
And that is, unfortunately, where the similarity between the original production and the Theatre Travels production ends. We began the evening with one of the directors directly addressing the audience. Odd – it was opening night not a preview. And I say one. There are two directors – Carly Fisher and Rosie Niven. This may account for a somewhat cluttered vision of the play. It quickly became a perfect example of why there should be one director and an AD. An unclear vision meant there was no real connection to the play. The point of Verbatim is that the audience is “in” the play. They are challenged. They are presented with various viewpoints. In this production, the strong anti-gay sentiments – although transmitted – were not engaged with and explored. We were talked at, but not invited in. There are moments where actors have to push though and moments to hold; this becomes about the push and pull; the multiple levels of emotion. Unfortunately, the various textures were not there.
Performances were uneven among the ensemble. Emily Richardson gave some nice moments as the cop affected by HIV after handling Matthew’s blood. But on the whole the differentiation between actor/many characters was unclear. This differentiation can be helped by costumes but in this instant, it was not. Perhaps when playing members of the Tectonic Company they could wear simple blacks; then assuming a character becomes the addition of one piece of specific costume.
The play identifies it multiple characters by naming them. The name was often muttered, as an aside, and the ensemble did not deliver focus to many of the monologues delivered by others on stage. A sense of lack of research pervaded such as the moment when a cast member donned a scarf to speak as a Muslim woman, yet left her shoulders bare and touched the man interviewing her. Female actors taking on the roles of men in grotesque caricatures – manspreading, slouching and grimacing melodramatically indicated no study of how a man’s body moves. Charlotte Tilelli particularly offended here – over-acting and pulling faces through much of her work.
The original design of The Laramie Project was a simple black box with each actor having a chair. Spaces are meant to be created with these chairs and with lighting. In this production, the set design (Dave Angelico) includes two huge tower like rostra – dangerously at odds with the gallery edges of the Reginald Theatre. I presume they served the theme and purpose of the play but the metaphor eluded me. Lighting was often late and actors often could not find their spot; even when aware they were performing in the dark, they seemed to stubbornly refuse to move to find the light.
After interval, it was obvious that quite a few audience members had not returned for a second half. The audience delivered their own impression.
Kate Stratford – On The Town
The Laramie Project
Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris, Stephen Belber and Members of The Tectonic Theater Project
28 Nov – 7 Dec 2018
2:00PM – 28th November & 1st December
7:00PM – 29th, 30th November, 3rd, & 7th December
Venue: Seymour Centre: Reginald Theatre
Theatre Company: Theatre Travels
Duration: N/A
