On the level of the visual, witzel’s staging is structured to a fault: projecting letters of the alphabet onto the set to announce each of the 26 scenes creates a heavy sense of predictability this feels like an unnecessary formal flourish, as does the projection of stage directions indicating where each scene is located. Under witzel’s thoughtful direction the five actors offer outstanding portraits of individuals struggling to hold it together in the most punishing of circumstances, but it may be that the next step for Fournier as a playwright is deconstructing the notion of character itself. The plot follows Jack’s character arc and rests on his psychological credibility and that of the other characters. There is a disconnect, though, between the play’s rejection of existing societal structures and its adherence to some theatrical norms. Among this production’s many indelible images, perhaps the most representative is that of the male cast members running in a circle chanting “tell me the story of our war machine”: this world is built around patriarchy and violence and the play represents these systems as totally futile. The Empire is a feminist project, produced by an all-female team and with references to women in each show’s title (the final instalment, Four Sisters, premieres in June at Luminato). ![]() And just when you thought things couldn’t get any worse, we find out what’s really in Cook’s rabbit stew. Jack has found a sliver of hope through learning and ideas, but the odds of him actually getting out are not high. This notion of humankind compressed to its breaking point pervades: all there is to do in this hellish world is buy whores, shoot up and drink, and the quality of the moonshine and drugs declines as the camp’s conditions worsen. The title refers to a medieval torture device that forces a person into a deep fetal position and which features at one point onstage. References brush against our contemporary reality but don’t offer the consistent reassurance of allegory. In a recent tweet, Paradigm described the show as making the dystopia of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale “look like spring break” and they’re right. The focus of commanding officer Webb (Carlos Gonzalez-Vio) is on keeping hierarchies in place. The Cook (Christopher Stanton) is in charge of stretching whatever foodstuffs can be found to keep the camp alive. His bunkmate Ash (Conor Wylie) deals morphine in the camp and his former girlfriend Sarah (Samantha Brown) is taking over the running of her mother’s brothel. Jack, a solider in the King’s army, is just back from six months away, during which he’s gained rudimentary literacy and a fiancée: the daughter of a philosopher (a reference to characters in the Trilogy’s first instalment) who taught him to read. The story is set in the 21st year of a war. Another comes moments later as the central character Jack (Josh Johnston) is introduced, one of the most striking entrances I’ve ever seen on a stage. This is just one of many coups de theatre in Tracey’s triumphant design (sets, lighting and costumes: she did them all). Wherever we are, we’re stuck there: the action begins with a corrugated door rattling down to shut the portal to the outside. Sitting down to face the entrance and watching others come in, it’s sometimes hard to know if they’re hipsters in wool winterwear or someone else in the show. Entering into the environment created by Michelle Tracey’s scenography is intoxicating: you walk along a pathway of slatted pallets around a big pile of dirt, taking in the earthy smell and a performer or two lurking in dim light. ![]() The play and ted witzel’s staging plunge audiences into a fictional universe built around and dying from toxic masculinity.Įven before the show starts, we’re cued to see this corner of Fournier’s Empire in a continuum with our own world. Paradigm Productions’ wildly ambitious, unremittingly dark production dovetails in uncanny ways with the global conversation around Gillette’s new marketing campaign. The second instalment of Susanna Fournier’s Empire Trilogy: The best a man can be? 27 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, 12 Alexander St. By Susanna Fournier, directed by ted witzel.
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