The first act of the play was rather dialogue heavy, and was heavily based on quotes by Nietzsche. I loved the concept of raising issue to our prison systems, while touching on philosophical matters, morality, and mental illness. I think that many people who weren't really aware of certain religious issues, or weren't familiar with Nietzsche, the first act of the play could have been borderline boring, as they would likely be lost. I found the dialogue heavy, and at times tough to get through– but understood what was going on. They brought up some great issues, and certainly captivated my brain to think a little further about the systems that we have in place. Which to me, brings up the whole other issue of living life with an open mind. Things aren't always black and white.
James (played by Ross McMillan), did such an amazing job of playing the role of an inmate struggling with mental illness. I think his reluctance to take his medication was very realistic. His willingness, or lack of willingness to comply and take his meds, was ultimately the main thing standing in his way of potential freedom after murdering his first wife while under a manic episode. James has a meeting with his Psychiatrist Heidi (played by Sarah Constible) throughout the first act. Heidi tries to help James as he approaches his parole hearing, but he needs to be taking his medication. The interaction between the two is unique and interesting to watch, especially when it becomes obvious that a boundary has been crossed.
Heidi promises James that if he takes his medication, she will quit psychiatry. Which leads us into the second act where Heidi breaks the news that she has quit job. The second act becomes much easier to follow, and ties in the Nietzsche heavy quotes very nicely. For those lost in the first act, it all starts to come together.
Major kudos to actor Ross McMillan. He is quite talented. He no longer plays the character of James in the second half of the play. Ross becomes Eric, Heidi's uncle. The two characters are nothing alike, the dialogue, mood, everything changes now. But one thing remains the same, the duos both had hurdles to overcome. Heidi and James needed to break down walls, so that both can be reached by one another. While with Eric, Heidi spends most of her time defending her decisions, until they both come to some form of mutual understanding. Heidi has her own inner struggle as she continues to discover that she is missing pieces in her own personal journey with defining justice and mental illness.
Overall, I think this play brings up some pretty incredible topics that people wouldn't normally stop to think about. The mentally ill is simply locked up far too often, the aboriginal population in prison is very high and I understand the herd mentality that goes along with it. Our system needs some work, and this play opens the eyes of its viewers to many of these issues.
This play was a little long, I appreciated the acting, and the many messages. I found the air to be a little thick, but that may just be because it was a full house. It's definitely not a venue for the claustrophobic. I was very happy to be served refreshments at intermission. I left the play feeling a little deflated. It was a bit heavy for me, for a Tuesday–maybe for any day. I thought it was worthwhile to see, but I'm not even really sure if I'd recommend this play to someone, and if I did, I'm not sure who the audience should be. I really did appreciate it though, it certainly got me thinking.
No comments:
Post a Comment