On Friday I had an opportunity to see the play.
“Ramifications of a Particular Crash.”
First, here’s a little bit about it:
Playing May.31-June. 15 at the Blake Snyder Theatre at GoStudios. I have a link to order your tickets online at the bottom of this post.
Written by
Kris Elgstrand
Directed by
Martin Kinch
Starring
I had an opportunity to read the script for this play when I worked on one of the scenes as part of a scene study class, and I was beyond excited to see it performed live. I was not disappointed with the final result.
Review
The play is about the return of Aimee Scott, a Hollywood starlet who several years ago accidentally hit and killed the daughter of a suburban family. Since that time both parties have suffered. The family has struggled to return to normalcy, and Aimee Scott has struggled to erase the picture of the girl in the white dress hitting her windshield. When she returns to the family’s home a mix of uneasiness and hilarity ensues. The play has several moments that certainly push the boundaries of what’s socially acceptable, but somehow Elgstrand pulls it off. Even though you feel you shouldn’t, it’s hard not to laugh (through hands cuffed against the mouth) during this well-written and extremely well acted story.
As the drug addicted mother, Joyce, Lori Triolo was almost unrecognizable. Hair dishevelled and eyes wide in a state of constant paranoia, she created this character without a shred of apology. Joyce came alive on that stage, and although it wasn’t always possible to side with her decisions, I believed without a doubt that those thoughts, plans, and insecurities were coming from her severely incapacitated mind.
As Paul, the father of this dysfunctional family, Brad Dryborough gave nothing away for free. His performance was reserved while at the same time being full of life. While Paul initially comes across as the most sane member of the family, there is an anger and desperation that, almost invisibly, bubbles underneath. It’s only when the bubbles pop the cover of his calm demeanour, that you understand that those suppressed emotions were there all along.
As Jodi, Maxine Chadburn brought a lightness to the surviving daughter that I didn’t really appreciate when reading the script myself. At the same time, it was this nonchalant attitude that made me the most uneasy. Her performance left you with a nagging feeling that she knew something that you didn’t, and her often odd behaviour left me consistently furrowing my brow with the question “why did she do that?” Of all the characters in the play, this character undergoes the most growth and so perhaps it is her story they’re telling. With the least amount of credits to her name, Maxine certainly held her own amidst this talented cast.
Finally, as the hollywood starlet Aimee Scott, Lara Gilchrist shines. There was certainly huge potential to do this character wrong. It would have been easy to make Aimee Scott into a generic dumb-blonde type character but, despite the uncomfortable material, Lara bravely brought herself to the role. As an audience member, I empathized with Aimee’s confusion and desperation, and laughed out loud at her ridiculous, and occasionally self-obsesssed, quirks.
Although it should be obvious, the play leaves you constantly wondering who’s in the right and who’s in the wrong.
I definitely recommend checking out this play for yourself.
If you live in the Vancouver area, you can order your tickets online here: