Prairie Theatre Exchange on The Brink of the Next 40 Years
Posted: October 13, 2012
Columns
The Brink by Ellen Peterson performed at Prairie Theatre Exchange on Thursday, October 11, 2012
Reviewed by Stephanie Adamov
The sheer magnitude, beauty and danger of Niagara Falls have long enticed both lovers and daredevils. The fusion of natural wonder and historic significance of this region draws tourists from across the globe like moths to a flame. Be it the bicentennial of the War of 1812, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, or Marineland there is much to do and see aside from the aquatic Wonder of the World. This over-marketed Canadian destination was coined the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” since the early 1900s.
However, for the cast of Ellen Peterson’s The Brink, the honeymoon has long since passed.
Jan Skene and Steven Ratzlaff; photo by Bruce Monk
The year is 1969. The Russians and the Americans are racing towards a lunar landing. Canada is on the cusp of Trudeaumania. With the Beatles blasting on the radio, and Joni Mitchell looking at “Both Sides Now,” young men south of the boarder are drafted to fight in Vietnam. The decline of the mechanical age leads to the start of the ‘information era’. The characters within Ellen Peterson’s family drama are forced to leave the decrepit family paper business, escape conscription or jump into fresh new, unknown waters.
Neil Armstrong’s bounding steps are heard around the world as Pat, alongside her post POW Uncle Jim and her less than optimistic mother Shirley struggle to keep the dissolving Chippewa Box and Paper Company afloat. Jim, played by a kind but frail Steven Ratzlaff, and Shirley, portrayed by a sharp, chain-smoking Jan Skene, live in the constant shadow of the former matriarch, Lillian. Forcefully assertive, Megan McArton returns to the PTE stage as Lillian, a character based on the real life legend of Annie Edson Taylor.
Annie was a schoolteacher who on her sixty-third birthday took the plunge and was the first person to cascade down the falls in a barrel and live. This unforgettable feat has long since been attempted with less success by dozens of other thrill seekers. The irony of Annie, and Peterson’s Lillian, is that they both sought fame to avoid poverty but, as it turns out, they both died destitute.
So many lives have been lost in the plummet that there is a fine of up to $10,000 from Niagara Parks to any survivors that attempt a stunt on the falls. The only exception is that once in a generation, an organized performance may be proposed to Niagara Parks and executed in honour of the historical daredevil legacy.
Director Robert Metcalfe propels the audience into June 1969 Chippewa, Ontario. This village is on the verge of being engulfed by the tourist-saturated city of Niagara. Just a stone’s throw from the falls, the family is treading along the dangerous current towards bankruptcy.
Pat, played by the strong willed RobYn Slade through pure grit and elbow grease is determined to keep the business from sinking. Slade, though very strong in the role of the responsible daughter, fell a bit short of convincingly being on the edge of change as the title suggests.
Her slipper shuffling war ‘hero’ Uncle Jim owns the company and refuses to see Slade’s character sacrifice her youth for the pipe dream of his mother, the Heroine of Horseshoe Falls. In Ratzlaff’s portrayal, the POW survivor bears silent scars of his experience from the Battle of Hong Kong. Referred to in the play as “the battle no one remembers but those present will never forget,” Ratzlaff treats the character with a genteel nature rejuvenated rather than hardened by his experiences. Through his brutal encounters with war, his ability to enjoy life is enhanced and he is able to approach life with a sense of gratitude, even in a failing business.
Brian Perchaluk’s set displays a rustically Canadian basement warehouse. Complete with stock stored under the stairs and a functional, lime-stained dual tapped sink, from the coffee maker to the wide handle refrigerator, the ‘60s are definitely present.
Peterson’s script had a tendency to sound a bit modern for a play so adamantly set in 1969. Don Benedictson’s soundscape appeared rather more inserted than fluid. Any time the radio was turned on it was a choppy interlude to any number of top 40 songs of ’69.
Through Scott Henderson’s lighting design, a very clear transition between several temporal and location changes were fluid and were achieved with great effect on stage. Shades of mauve would cloak a scene and as Shirley was caught in unresolved conflicts with her mother, Lillian, the audience was able to bear witness to the internal conflict of Skene’s thick-skinned character.
Evan Hall played in his multiple roles as Terry the young adult escaping the Vietnam draft as well as Jim’s POW comrade, Guy. The strength of Ratzlaff in the scenes reflecting on WWII lent aid to the young performer but overall the draft dodger character fell a bit short of cohesiveness with the other characters.
As a kick-off to the thriving PTE’s fortieth season, The Brink does allow an exploration of the human condition. The ability to change, the opportunity to make choices and the circumstances we may inadvertently find ourselves in are very much explored in the Patterson’s family drama. The 140th show to be premiered on the PTE stage, The Brink humbly finds the humour in even the darkest of hours.
The Brink by Ellen Peterson runs until October 28th, 2012 at Prairie Theatre Exchange, Unit Y300 – 393 Portage Avenue, 3rd Floor of Portage Place, Winnipeg, MB.
Prairie Theatre Exchange on The Brink of the Next 40 Years
Columns
The Brink by Ellen Peterson performed at Prairie Theatre Exchange on Thursday, October 11, 2012
Reviewed by Stephanie Adamov
The sheer magnitude, beauty and danger of Niagara Falls have long enticed both lovers and daredevils. The fusion of natural wonder and historic significance of this region draws tourists from across the globe like moths to a flame. Be it the bicentennial of the War of 1812, Ripley’s Believe it or Not, or Marineland there is much to do and see aside from the aquatic Wonder of the World. This over-marketed Canadian destination was coined the “Honeymoon Capital of the World” since the early 1900s.
However, for the cast of Ellen Peterson’s The Brink, the honeymoon has long since passed.
Jan Skene and Steven Ratzlaff; photo by Bruce Monk
The year is 1969. The Russians and the Americans are racing towards a lunar landing. Canada is on the cusp of Trudeaumania. With the Beatles blasting on the radio, and Joni Mitchell looking at “Both Sides Now,” young men south of the boarder are drafted to fight in Vietnam. The decline of the mechanical age leads to the start of the ‘information era’. The characters within Ellen Peterson’s family drama are forced to leave the decrepit family paper business, escape conscription or jump into fresh new, unknown waters.
Neil Armstrong’s bounding steps are heard around the world as Pat, alongside her post POW Uncle Jim and her less than optimistic mother Shirley struggle to keep the dissolving Chippewa Box and Paper Company afloat. Jim, played by a kind but frail Steven Ratzlaff, and Shirley, portrayed by a sharp, chain-smoking Jan Skene, live in the constant shadow of the former matriarch, Lillian. Forcefully assertive, Megan McArton returns to the PTE stage as Lillian, a character based on the real life legend of Annie Edson Taylor.
Annie was a schoolteacher who on her sixty-third birthday took the plunge and was the first person to cascade down the falls in a barrel and live. This unforgettable feat has long since been attempted with less success by dozens of other thrill seekers. The irony of Annie, and Peterson’s Lillian, is that they both sought fame to avoid poverty but, as it turns out, they both died destitute.
So many lives have been lost in the plummet that there is a fine of up to $10,000 from Niagara Parks to any survivors that attempt a stunt on the falls. The only exception is that once in a generation, an organized performance may be proposed to Niagara Parks and executed in honour of the historical daredevil legacy.
Director Robert Metcalfe propels the audience into June 1969 Chippewa, Ontario. This village is on the verge of being engulfed by the tourist-saturated city of Niagara. Just a stone’s throw from the falls, the family is treading along the dangerous current towards bankruptcy.
Pat, played by the strong willed RobYn Slade through pure grit and elbow grease is determined to keep the business from sinking. Slade, though very strong in the role of the responsible daughter, fell a bit short of convincingly being on the edge of change as the title suggests.
Her slipper shuffling war ‘hero’ Uncle Jim owns the company and refuses to see Slade’s character sacrifice her youth for the pipe dream of his mother, the Heroine of Horseshoe Falls. In Ratzlaff’s portrayal, the POW survivor bears silent scars of his experience from the Battle of Hong Kong. Referred to in the play as “the battle no one remembers but those present will never forget,” Ratzlaff treats the character with a genteel nature rejuvenated rather than hardened by his experiences. Through his brutal encounters with war, his ability to enjoy life is enhanced and he is able to approach life with a sense of gratitude, even in a failing business.
Brian Perchaluk’s set displays a rustically Canadian basement warehouse. Complete with stock stored under the stairs and a functional, lime-stained dual tapped sink, from the coffee maker to the wide handle refrigerator, the ‘60s are definitely present.
Peterson’s script had a tendency to sound a bit modern for a play so adamantly set in 1969. Don Benedictson’s soundscape appeared rather more inserted than fluid. Any time the radio was turned on it was a choppy interlude to any number of top 40 songs of ’69.
Through Scott Henderson’s lighting design, a very clear transition between several temporal and location changes were fluid and were achieved with great effect on stage. Shades of mauve would cloak a scene and as Shirley was caught in unresolved conflicts with her mother, Lillian, the audience was able to bear witness to the internal conflict of Skene’s thick-skinned character.
Evan Hall played in his multiple roles as Terry the young adult escaping the Vietnam draft as well as Jim’s POW comrade, Guy. The strength of Ratzlaff in the scenes reflecting on WWII lent aid to the young performer but overall the draft dodger character fell a bit short of cohesiveness with the other characters.
As a kick-off to the thriving PTE’s fortieth season, The Brink does allow an exploration of the human condition. The ability to change, the opportunity to make choices and the circumstances we may inadvertently find ourselves in are very much explored in the Patterson’s family drama. The 140th show to be premiered on the PTE stage, The Brink humbly finds the humour in even the darkest of hours.
The Brink by Ellen Peterson runs until October 28th, 2012 at Prairie Theatre Exchange, Unit Y300 – 393 Portage Avenue, 3rd Floor of Portage Place, Winnipeg, MB.