BLOOD BROTHERS

Blood Brothers
by Nick Pannu

Often we overlook how fate and destiny can have more leverage over events that have already been manipulated.

A poor single women burdened with seven hungry mouths has no choice, but to give up one of her newborn twins to a wealthy family. What are the chances that two non-identical twins separated at birth would later re-connect with each other and become not just playmates, but blood brothers. Heightening the tension there is a foreboding that if they find out they are brothers, both will die.

Willy Russell’s Blood Brothers is a well crafted script examining the circumstances that separates the polar opposite classes of rich and poor in 21 century England.

Watching Blood Brother's I admired how theatre is able to delve further and examine issues closer than film. The live stage effectively accentuates even the subtle differences. Police harass the poor, while overlooking and giving favoritism to those with wealth. The poor are enriched with folklore and superstitions; while those of privilege tend to be more pragmatic.

It wouldn’t be unfair to highlight one’s actor’s performance because all the main characters and the supporting ensemble gave an impeccable performance. Terra C. Macleod, who played the mother forced to give up her infant child, portrayed emotions that seemed very real and genuine. Also, Meghan Cardiner’s paranoia and manipulative nature was quite believable as she played the adoptive mother. Moreover, the production would have a totally different flavor without John Mann’s narration and singing. I was impressed by how directors, Bob Frazer and Sara-Jeanne Hosie, were able to guide such a large cast, while also maintaining authentic elements such as dance and music from Willy Russel’s original script.

Blood Brothers plays at Arts Clubs at Granville Island Stage until Dec 31st.

Photo: Adam Charles and Shane Snow in the Arts Club Theatre's production of Blood Brothers. Photo by David Cooper

PROJECT 2012

Project 2012
by Nick Pannu

CJSF 90.1 FM

CJSF's Nick Pannu reviews the western preview of Project 2012 presented by The Project Series @ Tipper Restaurant, this is what he says....

The Western Premiere of PROJECT 2012 was presented by the project series at Tipper Restaurant on 2066 Kingsway (&Victoria). Performances are scheduled from Thursday, Jan 28th until Saturday, February 6th

What would you do if you knew the world was going to end? Would you travel extensively or re-connect with your soul mate? Maybe you would live in perpetual denial until the very end; and spend all your time and resources building a safe haven. How would those in power maintain order and avoid chaos? The cast of writers and actors for Project 2012 present all these scenarios in the form of live theatre and film combined.

The performance begins with newscasts depicting events consistent with the world coming to an end. Visual segments engage the audience as experts legitimize the fear mongering by challenging and analyzing scientific evidence. After building the foundation for the prophecy’s credibility through film, the live theatre skits take an introspective approach allowing the audience to connect to the calamity of world events taking place. The live drama examines more closely how society is affected on a micro level. Empathy develops among audience members as the performance delves into the reactions of specific characters.

The acting for Project 2012 is not only superb, but also almost flawless. The list of actors sharing this complement is inclusive and extends to the entire cast. Describing each actor’s unique performance is unfortunately not possible because it would go over the word limit for this review. Panthea Belinda was quite natural in her role as the traveling student who befriends total strangers. It’s just not Belinda’s dialogue, but her reactions to other characters and the props that allows the audience to easily suspend their disbelief. Also, it’s quite unique how several cast members are able to play 2-3 roles simultaneously. Becoming one character is a laborious process in it’s self, but Ryan Smith, Spencer Kirkwood and Brian Calvert jump in and out of the separate roles with what seems like effortless conviction. Actor, Brian Calvert was often exercising this versatility. Calvert plays the prime Minster in one segment, and then the army sergeant, but the depth and substance of his other comedic redneck character is never compromised throughout the play.


The imminent prophecy and fear of the world ending was communicated well through the various live theatre scenes combined with the props, visual effects and film. The flow and transition from visual to live performance and had a natural flow. Project 2012 also maintained its cohesion as it combined the different genres of comedy and drama. The audience laughed often, but became emotionally connected as the performance approached its climax. Seeing Project 2012 will not only be entertaining but engaging on a level that will resonate a universal theme after: “what would I do if I knew the end was approaching”?

PROJECT 2012 was presented by the project series at Tipper Restaurant on 2066 Kingsway (&Victoria). For more information on future productions by “The Project series” Google monicamustelier.com or www.thebottletipper.com

Studio 58’s Summerfolk

Theatre: The play with an identity crisis
Nick Pannu, The Peak

Studio 58’s Summerfolk too much of a good thing

Social change doesn’t arise out of the blue. Looking back at a revolution, we can clearly see the events that led up to it like a ripple effect. However, during the period when the revolution is impending, some don’t see it coming. Playwright Maxim Gorky was one of the few to examine these points of view, within the escalating tension among Russian bourgeoisie a decade before the czar was eventually overthrown in 1917. Langara College’s Studio 58 revives the renowned Russian playwright’s masterpiece in an epic that questions the values and aloof attitude of the Russian bourgeoisie during the early 20th century.

The revived play started with familiar, even cliché scenes of the bourgeoisie. An over-indulging, book-reading, liberal wife scolds her husband for his lack of social consciousness. Her husband reprimands her, remarking in a typical sexist manner that “literature is corruptive and not a good influence” on her. The first few scenes were a little misleading about the play’s actual substance, however. The play was not as typical as the earliest scenes would suggest: engrained attitudes were challenged within the inner circle of the bourgeoisie. One of the first issues raised was how a person’s worth should be measured. Should it be defined according to how efficiently one works and the contribution they make to society? Should it be defined based on social status or inherited wealth?

As the play nears its finish, poignant scenes validate democracy and encourage social policy. A business tycoon with no heirs gives his wealth to fund new schools, while a respected doctor unexpectedly delivers a speech scrutinising elitism and endorsing democracy. The play explores each character’s identity crisis in turn. One character feels that she will find solstice if she meets the writer she admires. Another feels that connecting with the older women he loves is the missing piece that will solve his inner turmoil. Other characters continue to search for sanctuary to their confusion, each eventually establishing the hope of some understanding as the play progresses.

As enriching as the substance and dialogue of the play was, a major drawback was its duration. It was too long! The final curtain call came close to 11:00 p.m., after starting at 8:00 p.m. The play uses an elegant extended metaphor of the Swiss Alps’ serenity unexpectedly dismantled by storms and glaciers, which mirrors the drastic changes in Russian society. Yet it was this point being repeated over and over during the course of three hours that deflated my interest. The audience seemed to share my feelings. The ending applause was lacklustre, which is quite rare for a Studio 58 production.

On the other hand, the set was an immediate standout. The immaculately designed cabin and orchard were a perfect summer retreat for the Russian bourgeoisie. Another prominent fixture was the new layout of the theatre. The traditional stage was no longer there. Instead, there was a set in the middle on the floor between arranged seating on both sides of the theatre. Somehow this one change made the scenes seem more candid and genuine as actors spoke their lines. Perhaps it allowed audience members to suspend disbelief more easily as well as allowing cast members to morph into their roles.

The Bloody Cleanup

Theatre: A Bloody bit of theatre
Nick Pannu, The Peak

The Bloody Cleanup played at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, March 14-18.

In life there are often things taken for granted. Such items overlooked include the invention of sliced bread, the wheel, shoelaces, band aids, and last but not least the wonderful institution of democracy. Before free will and the equal opportunity to vote, the monarchy orchestrated the rule of law. As malicious and indifferent monarchs may have been to the masses, the means by which the monarchy in France was overthrown during the French revolution begs some empathy. King George XVII, his wife Marie Antoinette, their entourage, and many other royal dignitaries were executed with their heads cut off and held up to the jeering masses.

Manon Beaudoin writes and stars as the pre-beheaded version of Marie Antoinette in The Bloody Cleanup. The beheaded Marie Antoinette — played by Lois Anderson — is less feminine and tranquil, but a rather bitter incarnation that often utters phrases such as “piss off and fuck off.” In the opening scene, a chorus emanates the sombre disposition of a blindfolded and bound Marie Antoinette as she awaits her beheading. It seemed to foreshadow a provocative, introspective take on the last days of Marie Antoinette. The production didn’t entirely live up to this expectation. Mostly the play is a comedy and farce on the monarchy.

The queen’s entourage consists of two Siamese twin sisters, who are preoccupied mostly with their own tragic dilemma. One of them will die once they are surgically separated. Many scenes are devoted to this calamity within Antoinette’s prevailing despair and ostracisation. In one scene, while one twin is sleeping, the other one has sex with the doctor. Being awoken in a jealous rage, the sister stabs and kills the doctor. Amidst the comedy, Manon Beaudoin is still successful as an actor when she is able to depict the extent of propaganda bestowed upon Marie Antoinette. Through a mock court scene, the new Republican government is shown trying to slander the queen so she can be executed forthright. A bogus witness claims that the queen had an incestuous relationship with her eight-year-old son. Vehemently, Beaudoin performing as Antoinette stands up and declares, “If I have not replied, it is because nature itself refuses to respond to such a charge laid against a mother.”

The production displays ambition as it attempts to depict many issues at once. Death is inclusive to everyone, even the privileged. It was hard to grasp and understand the other multi-themes occurring in the play. There are too many ambiguities. When the characters die at the end, it’s not clear where they are. Are they in Hell? Also, was it being implied that Hell isn’t that bad? It was confusing at times.

As a playwright, Manon Beaudoin shows a lot of promise. Although it didn’t necessarily come to complete fruition in this production, Beaudoin’s attempt to manufacture something that is funny, serious, unpredictable, and introspective simultaneously is quite innovative and could possibly set a new precedent in the future for other playwrights.

The Cry Pitch Carrolls

The Cry Pitch Carrolls
by Nick Pannu, CJSF 90.1 FM

The Western Canadian premiere of The Cry Pitch Carrolls is presented by the Performance works theatre on Granville Island in Vancouver. The Cry Pitch Carrolls is a Proximity Lab production written by playwright Ruth Margraff. Performances are scheduled from December 8 until December 18. A&E's Nick Pannu reviews the show.

The Cry Pitch Carrolls articulates the plight and suffering of marginalized and estranged characters. Certain characters are sustained by their faith while others embrace it as their saving grace from which to liberate themselves. Dialogue meets depth in scenes where vocal Operatics are used as a means to describe certain entities such as the New Testament and coping with prolonged circumstances such as isolation and grieving.

The setting is Christmas in a small town of widows in an isolated region of Michigan. A woman returns to her hometown claiming that her grown child is the son of God. Out on her luck and lacking basic essentials such as shelter and clothing, the women attempts to alleviate her misery through nostalgic accounts of when she was a child growing up in that town. She attempts to restore the grace she had as a child. The woman is portrayed as indifferent, not necessarily due to her marginalization, but her overbearing faith which others see as a mere scheme to lure coinage from vain people within the community.

The theme is not explicit. Christmas is the setting but does not define the entire play; rather it facilitates a means to examine faith when it is addressed by everyone on the birthday of Christ. Moreover, the script is strategic, not only does it attempt to swerve the audience, but the way paradigms are initiated by unexpected characters is refreshing. The widows vehemently attack the faith of the estranged women, but bestow divinity on a small poodle. As well, the young man claimed to be the son of Christ attempts to subjugate everyone towards a state of realism. Initially he is tentative, especially when he realizes his mother has nothing else to her sustain herself with but her faith. His attempts are futile because the widows, like his mother, decide that accepting faith is the only means to attaining salvation.

Strapped in loincloth throughout the entire play Paul Ternes, who plays Small Christus, is focused and immersed in his character. His emotions, gestures and singing genuinely convey the despair and entrapment that Small Christus has had bestowed upon him. As well as candid revelations about life and suffering the three widows appropriate scenes with humor adding more spice to the production. Having performed in contemporary opera, Carol Sawyer is a stand out during the chorus scenes.

A Common Man’s Guide to Loving Women

A Common Man's Guide To Loving Women
by Nick Pannu, CJSF 90.1 FM

The Western Canadian premiere of A Common Man's Guide To Loving Women is presented by Fireball Arts Centre. A Common Man's Guide To Loving Women is written by playwright Andrew Moodie and directed by Denis Simpson. Performances are scheduled from November 11 until December 3, with matinees on Saturday and Sunday. CJSF A&E member, Nick Pannu, reviews the show.

Andrew Moodie's latest production, A Common Man's Guide to Loving Women, examines the dynamics of group conformity, gender equity and political correctness. This, the genuine essence of the play, is not revealed right away. The production starts at an innocent get together of four friends amidst preparations for a friend's stage party. The guys' night out is abruptly cancelled when their friend's fiance breaks off their engagement.

As a result, the fiance shacks up with an acquaintance who will inevitably enhance her career. Here, the audience is misled, believing that this circumstance will exclusively define the conflict of the play. Yet, it is only an ingenious means to swerve the audience so no one is able to anticipate the diverse scenarios and turmoil that will present itself later on. Each individual calamity consolidates by presenting a distinct issue, begging to be addressed and resolved.

Throughout this play, the means of maintaining a relationship are thoroughly examined. Each character divulges their inability to gauge the proper disposition needed to successfully sustain a relationship. Through this, characters submit their biases and at times contempt for the double standards that co-exist for men and women. While certain characters vehemently oppose some privileges that women have, others sternly express the oppressing circumstances women face. Although the medium remains grey, respective characters are enlightened, easing their previously rigid stance.

Andrew Moodie's script emanates considerable depth that engages as well as challenges the audience to examine their own possible shortcomings within relationships. The script is complimented by a professionally designed set. Sometimes it actually feels like the audience is invading someone's apartment. All characters are played by recognizable veteran stage, TV and film actors. Their superb performances have no shortcomings, further accentuating the brilliance of the script.

A Common Man's Guide To Loving Women is playing at the Fir shall Arts Centre, 280 East Cordova Street Vancouver until December 3. Call (604)-689-0926 for more information.

The Diary of Anne Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank: Artistic self-actualization distorts realism and sustains optimism
Words by Nick Pannu, CJSF Radio 90.1 fin.

The Western Canadian premiere of The Diary of Anne Frank is presented by the Arts Club theatre at the Stanley Industrial Alliance stage. The Diary of Anne Frank is a Goodrich & Hackett production directed by Rachel Ditor. Performances are scheduled from September 28 until October 23. CJSF contributor, Nick Pannu reviews the show.

The play examines the plight of a Jewish family living in a German conquered territory during World War II. They struggle to remain hidden from Nazi troops that regularly patrol the streets seeking out Jews. Two Jewish families manage to tactfully elude Nazi officials by hiding in a secret annex above a warehouse.

The families are confined to the annex and never able to venture outside. They are sustained by former domestic helpers who transport rations, books and other amenities to the residents. Eventually, these individuals succumb to their involuntary imprisonment. They start suffering from physical ailments, rations start to deplete, highlighting their perpetual fear of being discovered by the Nazis. They hear broadcasts on the radio of the inevitable death that Jews suffer and horrific circumstances experienced prior to execution. Children in the annex have dreams of their friends dying in concentration camps. Yet, in spite of the developing unrest, there is an all-encompassing spirit within the annex that is able to subdue the turmoil.

The youngest teenager, Anne Frank, alleviates the calamity through her vivacious optimism, and humor. When others are apprehensive about the vile food that they sometimes have to eat, Anne persuades them by pretending the food is something exquisite. Her indifference to their circumstances in the annex sometimes allows others to suspend their disbelief and immerse themselves into Anne's false realism. Anne's Diary is her outlet that sustains her optimism, thus the saving grace of everyone's despair.

Seasoned and novice stage actors give an uncomprising brilliant performance. It is possible that the conviction of each artist to tell Anne Frank's story was so strong that their performance became enhanced by it. The director and various actors articulate the importance of Anne's tragedy in the play's publication. As well, the lighting and sound designers deserve special praise for making the experience very impressionable. It actually seemed like bombs were being dropped and Nazi Gestapo were marching in the streets.

This production puts names, faces, ambitions and virtues to the victims of the holocaust. It's almost a revelation within itself to realize that once you get to know even eight eventual victims through a play, you will never be able to desensitize yourself from such a horrific tragedy.

The Diary of Anne Frank is playing at the Stanely Industrial Alliance Stage, 2750 (Between West 11th & 12th Ave) Granville St., Vancouver until October 23. Call 604-687-1644.