HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1992-08-19, Page 27Theatre review
Play spine tingling fun
Fear’s grip
Deborah Drakeford as Jan in the Blyth Festival production
of Peter Colley’s I'll Be Back Before Midnight, which
opened this past week is greeted by a chilling presence in
this scene from the popular thriller.
BY BONNIE GROPP
I can't ever remember a time
when I had so much fun being
scared.
From the time the lights go down
on Peter Colley's infamous I'll Be
Back Before Midnight, which made
a triumphant return to Blyth this
past week, the audience is seldom
silent as screams meld with ner
vous titters and raucous laughter.
It's a roller coaster ride of excit-
ment, with humour building antici
pation in the uphill climb and
suspense eliciting the thrills of the
trip down.
The story of Midnight is well
known. Mr. Colley was staying
with friends in an old farmhouse
outside Belgrave while in Blyth
working on a new play. The sinister
quiet that country folk thrive on
gave the urban playwright a sense
of some "long-forgotten horror that
lingered like dust on the decaying
walls and weathered planking."
Whether the fears were precipi
tated by an over active imagination
or not, the result was the penning of
Midnight which premiered in
Blyth in 1979 and has gone on to
S "ports
10 teams
in Blyth
tournee
Ten area teams were involved in
the Inter-Township Squirt Girls
baseball tournament in Blyth this
weekend.
The 'A' championship was won
by the Auburn team. They played
against Goderich III to win 19-13.
Goderich Twp. battled it out
against Colbome for the 'B' cham
pionship. Goderich Twp. won 20-
8.
Friday night, Auburn defeated
Blyth in extra innings to advance to
the championship round. The
Blyth girls again lost to Colbome
on Saturday which eliminated them
from any further play.
The Londesboro team was put
out early in the tournament as well.
The girls lost their first game to
Stanley Twp. and the tecond game
to Goderich Twp.
tour 13 countries, every province in
Canada and 41 states in the U.S.
The movie version, starring popular
character actor Ned Beatty, Robert
Carradine, Susannah York, Heather
Locklear and Emma Samms, has
just been completed in Los Ange
les.
The macabre tone of Blyth's pro
duction of Midnight is prophesied
early with John Roby's opening
music. The beginning seems inno
cent as young marrieds Greg and
Jan come to the country to revive
their troubled marriage. It was
Greg's intention that the quiet
serenity of the country would be
good medicine for Jan, who is
recovering from a mental break
down. But it becomes apparent
soon enough that all is not as it
appears to be, as the farm house
they are renting becomes the scene
of mystery and evil. Placing further
burden on Jan's delicate mental
state is the arrival of Greg's sister
Laura whose relationship to the
couple is disturbingly sinister.
The quartet of actors, bringing
Colley's characters to life, and-
sometimes death, are excellent,
most notably Robert King as
George, the whiskey guzzling land
lord from across the road. A comic
figure that could easily have been
turned into a caricature he plays the
part with an alacrity that appears to
come naturally.
Oliver Dennis is perfect as the
cool, bookish Greg, who is some
what discomfitted by his wife's
emotional displays and more
volatile temperament.
Deborah Drakeford as Jan plays
the appealing, but tortured ingenue,
with an underlying steely determi
nation that gains the audience's
respect immediately. Her acerbic
Blyth Community Play
presents
YUK YUK'S
22 August 1992
Comedy Show 9 - 11
Dancing to D.J. 11 - 1 a.m.
’Soundproof Music Services”
Advance At the Door
$10.00 included $12.00
Age of Majority Only
Call 523-9300 (days) or 523-4328 (eve.) for tickets or more information
retort to the icy Laura, played by
Laurel Paetz is a cut above the
rest. Ms Paetz has proven in other
Blyth productions that she is quite -
comfortable playing characters
with few redeeming qualities. Her
Laura is so reprehensible that few
could be affected sorely by her
early and unexpected exit. When
she starts "hanging around" later
her presence makes you even more
uncomfortable.
Former Blyth Festival artistic
director Katherine Kaszas' direction
keeps the action moving and the
audience on the edge of their seat.
Also worthy of mention is the fight
scene directed by John Stead,
which illicited gasps and laughs.
Midnight, which tingles the
spine as much as it tickles the
funny bone probably has greater
appeal to today's fear-loving audi
ences than when it debuted over a
decade ago. While being scared is
not necessarily everyone's idea of
entertainment there is undeniably a
thrill factor to to being frightened
witless.
What I think makes Midnight so
successful is the fact that the story
came from an experience - one that
many of us can relate to. Most of
us have fallen victim to our imagi
nation at one time or another, have
let it carry us beyond the realms of
the believable into the frightening.
A lonely house full of overwhelm
ing quiet can be peaceful, but to the
unfamiliar in the wrong frame of
mind it is, as Jan discovers, more
terrifying than city life. As George
says, "When it comes to murder or
death, country folk have got more
imagination."
While many used to more light
theatre fare may be uncomfortable
with the tension and violence creat
ed in Midnight, smart theatre goers
can not deny its quality. During the
fight scene an elderly woman
behind me questioned somewhat
scathingly, "When is this going to
end?"
I couldn't help thinking that it
really takes a lot to please some
people. In its return to Blyth, Mid
night reminds us what the theatre
has accomplished in its 18 seasons
and is a good return for the money.
Happy Birthday
Ralph
Best Wishes from
the Martins
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19,1992. PAGE 27.
E ntertainment
r~ ~i
Theatre review
Native play intense
BY BEN BARNES AND
JASON GROPP
On Monday evening, the Blyth
Festival Theatre was host to a
dramatic and intense production
performed by members of the
Native Theatre School.
The Native Theatre School was
established with the purpose of
providing students with theatrical
training combining modern
contemporary drama and traditional
native customs. The Incredible Joy
of Being Herd was an attempt to
blend Greek drama with the tragic
history of the native peoples in
North America. The destruction of
the city of Troy was used as an
allegory for the fate of the
indigenous peoples. This
combination produced mixed
results.
In order to properly absorb the
full meaning of the play, a greater
knowledge than these reviewers
had of the Euripieds’ play The
Trojan Women would be necessary.
For us, the play was not coherent
enough to be effective.
Some of the scenes worked well.
In particular, the scene with a one-
legged bison was funny and
touching. It was nicely
choreographed and physically
demanding. While the play was
visually impressive, however, it
had little discernable plot. Often,
vision was obstructed by the set
THURSDAY NIGHT IS
WING NIGHT
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
WINGS 35e EACH
MINIMUM ORDER 10
a variety of sauces available
Wings available for take out at
regular price of 50c each.
THURS., FRI., & SAT.
5 P.M. * MIDNIGHT
WINGS & CHIPS
$5.45
EAT IN OR TAKE OUT
THURS., FRI. & SAT. NITES
PIZZA
5 P.M. - MIDNIGHT
EAT IN OR TAKE OUT
ENTERTAINMENT
Aug. 21 - 22
Hugh Elder|||
Tumbleweed North
ft
design and there were too many
things going on at the same lime.
While there were some problems
with the play itself, there were
some fine individual performances.
The character of Cassandra was
portrayed well by afi actress with
an excellent singing voice. The
program did not state which actress
played Cassandra, unfortunately.
In lieu of the fact that the play
was an attempt to revitalize native
culture, the choice of a
mythological Greek parallel was
not solid. To an academic audience,
the allegory may be an effective
tool. However, the subtleties
escaped us and the play seemed
disjointed.
Buck & Doe
for
Scott MacDonald
and
Kathy Davis
Friday August 28
8:00-1:00
Blyth Community Centre
Music by Sound Proof
Bus Pick up at Clinton Credit
Union - 9:00 p.m.
Age of Majority
For more Information
phone 482-5674 (evenings)
523-9447 (evenings)
HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY
Joe & Lin Steffler
John Steffler invites
friends and relatives to
join his parents in cele
brating this special occa
sion on Saturday, Aug.
22/92.
5:00 p.m. - Renewal of
Marriage Vows - St.
James RC Church,
Seaforth.
9:00 p.m. - Dance at
Seaforth Legion.
Best Wishes
Onlv Please