Dionysus in Stony Mountain by Steven Ratzlaff, presented by Theatre Projects Manitoba at the Rachel Browne Theatre, March 29, 2012
Reviewed by Stephanie Adamov
Having premiered at the 2009 Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Steven Ratzlaff’s play Dionysus in Stony Mountain concludes Theatre Projects Manitoba’s twenty-second season. Ratzlaff pours philosophy and politics into a penitentiary setting. Ross McMillan calculatingly portrays the convict James Hiebert, as he conducts an investigation of morality in the presence of his psychiatrist. Weeks from parole he begins to refuse medication and insists on committing the words of Nietzsche to memory until they are “chiseled into the walls of his heart.”
Ross McMillan and Sarah Constible in mid-therapy; photo by Leif Norman
The cautiously optimistic shrink Heidi is played sharply by Sarah Constible. Firm yet kind, she advocates for James’s health and for holistic healing. As he rehearses Nietzsche’s propositions, doubt ensues. James, through the philosopher’s work, challenges her moral notions.
This adaptation directed by Bill Kerr is an expanded version of Ratzlaff’s play.
Ross McMillan (transformed) with Sarah Constible; photo by Leif Norman
After a series of workshops, the provocative single act show developed to form a two-act piece. The second act captures Heidi’s life months after James Hiebert’s trial. Her Uncle Eric, played by a more ‘cleaned-up’ version of Ross McMillian, pays a surprise visit to Heidi as she is knee deep in insulation while renovating her home.
The addition proved most useful to provide a full scope of the journey of both James and Heidi. The original piece was found to be dialogue-heavy for the character of James. Didactic at times, the expanded play was surprisingly easy to follow in its arguments and critical socio-economic views. However, the second act allowed audiences to see a transformation of Heidi and perhaps challenge their own moral assumptions even farther than the first act had done.
Locally written, the cerebral drama is complete with a whole gamut of references to areas in and around Winnipeg. The lighting design by Hugh Conacher proves cinematic along with the addition of Don Benedictson’s ecclesiastical-sounding music. The set for the two acts was combined into one rotating unit designed by Grant Guy linking the two acts effortlessly. Crisply painted, the walls of the prison could have perhaps been more battered and marked to match the ill-treated folding chairs that occupied the room. Regardless, this is minor in comparison to the major focus of the play, and the paradoxes we face as tax-paying Canadians.
Steve Ratzlaff’s succeeds in major ways to contribute to political discourse on a provincial and national level with Dionysus in Stony Mountain. Critically addressing the issue of simply placing more money in the arena of police and correctional management is simply not the solution. However, the solution is still unknown. More creative ways will need to be sought. At least, for now, through the use of political theatre that in Ratzlaff’s words can “provoke audience members into thought,” audiences can sit in the dark and begin to think of these issues in a new light.
Dionysus in Stony Mountain by Steven Ratzlaff, presented by Theatre Projects Manitoba at the Rachel Browne Theatre, 211 Bannatyne Ave., Winnipeg, showtimes March 29-April 8, 2012.
New Light in the Theatrical Dark
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Dionysus in Stony Mountain by Steven Ratzlaff, presented by Theatre Projects Manitoba at the Rachel Browne Theatre, March 29, 2012
Reviewed by Stephanie Adamov
Having premiered at the 2009 Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Steven Ratzlaff’s play Dionysus in Stony Mountain concludes Theatre Projects Manitoba’s twenty-second season. Ratzlaff pours philosophy and politics into a penitentiary setting. Ross McMillan calculatingly portrays the convict James Hiebert, as he conducts an investigation of morality in the presence of his psychiatrist. Weeks from parole he begins to refuse medication and insists on committing the words of Nietzsche to memory until they are “chiseled into the walls of his heart.”
Ross McMillan and Sarah Constible in mid-therapy; photo by Leif Norman
The cautiously optimistic shrink Heidi is played sharply by Sarah Constible. Firm yet kind, she advocates for James’s health and for holistic healing. As he rehearses Nietzsche’s propositions, doubt ensues. James, through the philosopher’s work, challenges her moral notions.
This adaptation directed by Bill Kerr is an expanded version of Ratzlaff’s play.
Ross McMillan (transformed) with Sarah Constible; photo by Leif Norman
After a series of workshops, the provocative single act show developed to form a two-act piece. The second act captures Heidi’s life months after James Hiebert’s trial. Her Uncle Eric, played by a more ‘cleaned-up’ version of Ross McMillian, pays a surprise visit to Heidi as she is knee deep in insulation while renovating her home.
The addition proved most useful to provide a full scope of the journey of both James and Heidi. The original piece was found to be dialogue-heavy for the character of James. Didactic at times, the expanded play was surprisingly easy to follow in its arguments and critical socio-economic views. However, the second act allowed audiences to see a transformation of Heidi and perhaps challenge their own moral assumptions even farther than the first act had done.
Locally written, the cerebral drama is complete with a whole gamut of references to areas in and around Winnipeg. The lighting design by Hugh Conacher proves cinematic along with the addition of Don Benedictson’s ecclesiastical-sounding music. The set for the two acts was combined into one rotating unit designed by Grant Guy linking the two acts effortlessly. Crisply painted, the walls of the prison could have perhaps been more battered and marked to match the ill-treated folding chairs that occupied the room. Regardless, this is minor in comparison to the major focus of the play, and the paradoxes we face as tax-paying Canadians.
Steve Ratzlaff’s succeeds in major ways to contribute to political discourse on a provincial and national level with Dionysus in Stony Mountain. Critically addressing the issue of simply placing more money in the arena of police and correctional management is simply not the solution. However, the solution is still unknown. More creative ways will need to be sought. At least, for now, through the use of political theatre that in Ratzlaff’s words can “provoke audience members into thought,” audiences can sit in the dark and begin to think of these issues in a new light.
Dionysus in Stony Mountain by Steven Ratzlaff, presented by Theatre Projects Manitoba at the Rachel Browne Theatre, 211 Bannatyne Ave., Winnipeg, showtimes March 29-April 8, 2012.