Last night I left my 6 week old son at home with his grandmother and went to the theatre all by myself like an adult. (It was scary. Also now you know why there hasn’t been a post since October. Baby Bean born Nov. 3rd, 7lbs `8oz after 12 hours of me screaming like a cavewoman). After assistant-directing The Doppler Effect’s kick-ass gold medal Fringe Hit Tribe of One this summer, it was crucial to me that I take in playwright Michael McPhee’s long-awaited The Contribution, set in the same imagined future as Tribe but decades later.
I’ll be honest with you, I sort of loved The Contribution before seeing it, because during Fringe I became a little obsessed with The Cadimus Protocol, Doppler’s “fictitious New World” that envisions “what our reality might become if an environmental cataclysm forces vigorous regulation of humanity’s procreation rate in order to balance our eco-system.” Post-apocalyptic worlds, dystopian/utopian ideas, and environmental commentary are all sort of jams of mine in general.
With Cadimus’ highly-detailed imagining of the future — one that aims to “achieve balance with nature [by] giving up humanity’s freedom to reproduce” and ensuring the controlled population all ~contribute~ to their world in meaningful ways — I was hooked from the beginning. So yeah, I went in to this show with the privilege of already loving the alternate reality, comfortable with McPhee’s innovatory use of gender-neutral language and generally feeling a connection to all things Cadimus.
What I didn’t know was that The Contribution would pair its intellectually stimulating ideas so gracefully with the raw human emotion of its leads, Iraq and Alistar Barrington (Francine Deschepper and Andrew Kasprzak). Where Tribe of One was quite idea-driven, with its heady characters struggling with ~having feelings~, The Contribution is driven by rebellion against Cadimus for the SAKE of those feelings — human instincts vs. Cadimus’ commandments. Iraq’s longing to have a family, and a family WITH Alistar specifically, outweighs her obedience to Cadimus, who forbids the somewhat simpleton couple from procreating.
Deschepper masters Iraq’s determination and desperation to outsmart the protocol and be a mother, and the spiral of anxiety her illegal baby brings. And although I wished the climactic confrontation between the Barringtons and neighbour Pyth (McPhee himself onstage, which has become a rare delight) had come a little earlier, Deschepper and Kasprzak’s frenzied declarations of love, and the dedication the Barringtons have to their family, undoubtedly touch the less hormonal in the audience but SUPER tugged on my postpartum heartstrings. I also wanted a bit more from the final scene with Alistar and Ell (Doppler Producer Annie Valentina who rocked what is, to me, her best performance to date). The plot-twist Ell provides is excellent and deserves a bit more exploration……..or maybe I just wanted the play to be longer.
The script is both an emotional and cerebral foundation for the show, and the overall production (directed by Edmonton’s Heather Inglis) is equally as sharp. The Waiting Room is a boxy new theatre on Almon Street which Inglis moves the cast through beautifully. Screens throughout the space play captivating Cadimus Public Service Announcements (and more!) headed by multimedia designer Ian Burns and Halifax’s favorite projection guru Nick Bottomley. Garret Barker’s lighting design is crisp and nuanced, Emily Shute’s sound design slick and cinematic. These highly conceptional elements are impressive, but unlike a plethora of other ‘plays’ they are there to serve a purpose beyond trend and showmanship. They further the emotional journey of the characters onstage and for that I say, thank you Doppler! Pet-peeve averted.**
Thematically and overall, The Contribution represents what I believe Halifax Theatre can use more of. Strong, imaginative scripts at the core, innovative design elements that push these stories forward, and bold performances that draw an audience in by their hearts.
The Contribution finishes its run Sunday December 14th
Saturday De.c 13th at 8pm
Sunday Dec. 14th 2pm & 8pm
$25 ($20 for students, artist and underwaged)
The Waiting Room (6040 Almon St)
To book tickets: [email protected]
Photo by Emily Jewer
** I could go on and on about this mania for pointless technical elements in theatre that add nothing to the story but I’m typing this with one hand and breastfeeding so I’ll save that for another time.
