A Night at the Theatre

 

Today I discovered a space I didn’t know existed, the Rachel Browne Theatre on the corner of Bannatyne Ave near Main St.  My fellow Cre Comm students and I attended the Theatre Projects Manitoba performance of Proud by Michael Healey.  I highly recommend it. It is incredibly clever, and an interesting take on Canadian politics, one that is not only satirical but genuinely intriguing.

The general premise is the conservatives win a majority government in the federal election.  The Prime Minister, played by Ross McMillan, in the struggle to contain and control his party, crosses paths with Jisbella Lyth, played by Daria Puttaert, an under qualified and boisterous MP.  The Prime Minister decides to use Lyth to his benefit as a distraction, so he can carry one certain duties without the attention of the media.

Proud was a lot funnier than I was expecting.  The dialogue was witty and engaging, although I did find the f-bomb was a little overused.   I’m no stranger to swearing like a sailor, so if I notice there’s a lot of it? Probably could have cut a few f sharps out.

I digress.

The set worked remarkably well. Out of all the plays I’ve seen with only one set, this one worked seamlessly.  It always amazes me how an entire story can be played out in just one room, with a few different angles.  Maybe it’s a testament to the acting, which I should add was great.  McMillan’s representation of the Prime Minister was on par.

I found it interesting that in the talkback session, McMillan said that he had always had a personal interest in the Prime Minister because he didn’t understand him, he didn’t “get it”, and this made it easy to develop his mannerisms.

“The Stephen Harper we see is controlled,” said McMillan. “He is a fiction…we don’t get to see his personality.  He’s the easiest kind of person to portray.”

This is maybe what I found the most intriguing about the play.

At first, I was a little disoriented.  I felt I wasn’t catching all the quick jabs and, inside jokes for lack of a better word, of the politics being depicted. After the fact, I feel this may have been intentionally done. I don’t know a lot about Stephen Harper. I don’t know a lot about what our federal government is doing outside of the headlines. How much of these headlines are manufactured for us?  Are we just pawns in a political game, driven by pride, a thurst for power and control?

Maybe Healey is letting us in on the big picture, or maybe it’s just sensationalized drama.  The important part is that it got us asking questions. How much of the play was based on fact? How much was completely fabricated? Like an itch I can’t scratch, I want to know.

But hey, researching our government and politics can never be a bad thing, right?