THE SPECTATORS’ ODYSSEY – O DELL’INFERNO by Daniele Bartolini (TO Live/DLT). Presented in two parts. Runs to November 14. $50 (one part), $75 (both). St. Lawrence Centre (27 Front East). tolive.com. 416-366-7723. Rating: NNN
Over the past 20 months, many of us have felt, to paraphrase the famous opening of Dante’s Inferno, within a dark wood, the straightforward path lost. So the prospect of getting back on track through an immersive, socially-distanced walkabout show inspired both by Dante’s poem and Homer’s The Odyssey sounds promising.
Alas, Daniele Bartolini’s two-part theatrical journey, cleverly titled The Spectators’ Odyssey – o dell’inferno, isn’t quite as epic as it could be. But it does offer up some atmospheric episodes as well as a unique, behind-the-scenes look at two Toronto institutions.
The show is divided into two parts, or journeys: one labelled Blue, the other Red. Blue is inspired by The Odyssey and takes you through the backstage and basement of the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts; Red, inspired by Dante’s Inferno, begins at the St. Lawrence Centre and travels a few blocks east to the St. Lawrence Market. Each show – with a maximum audience of eight patrons each – takes about an hour.
I experienced Blue then Red, which is probably the better order if you’re doing both shows. If you can only sign up for one, I’d recommend Red, although the two shows really should be experienced as a pair; they comment upon, and add to, each other.
Having seen hundreds of performances at the St. Lawrence Centre (home of the Jane Mallett and Bluma Appel Theatres), it was fascinating being guided by several ghoulish, dancing figures through the twisty, winding basement hallways. The lighting in the halls and private rooms is eerily effective, as is one area called Cafe Emotion, outfitted almost like a strip club, in which a seductive, cabaret-like performer (Dilay Taskaya) talks about the role of theatre before leading you to a private room devoted to one of eight emotions (I chose Grief).
The theme of art and art-making continues in other episodes, including the big climax in which we meet a Zeus-like figure (Frédéric Péloquin) to the sounds of heavy metal (musician Andrea Gozzi). Rather than strike universal chords, however, these statements about art seem solipsistic and indulgent.
Red, which is supposed to begin across the street at Berczy Park, instead began (perhaps because of the cold) in the lobby of the Bluma Appel, and it is immediately more gripping. It begins with the menacing sight of an abandoned backpack, during which time we hear a clever story – told entirely in rhyme – about being reborn. After a rather inconsequential lecture about The Odyssey by Nicole Dufoe, we’re led by a tormented, haunted J.D. Leslie to St. Lawrence Market. (Note: there is a lot of walking during this portion).
Before entering the market Dufoe tells us, a la Dante, to abandon all hope before entering. It’s good advice, because the people we meet in there, from an obsessed, drug-taking security guard (a chilling Ori Black) to a writhing, obsessed woman wearing a red dress (Maddalena Vallecchi Williams), all seem in various stages of torture.
If you’re familiar with the market, it looks especially creepy cast in darkness, and when you’re on the main floor your eyes immediately travel upwards to admire the stunning architecture of the building.
Unfortunately, the work’s final segment – a clown turn involving an excitable chef (Saïd Benyoucef) and his excrement (Nolan Molfetta, cheerful and up for anything) – feels anti-climactic, especially after the visual treats we’ve experienced. I’m sure there’s a connection between the idea of human waste and the surrealist writer and director Antonin Artaud, whose name also comes up.
But it’s lost on me. The piece of poo bids us adieu – or rather, “a-poo,” he jokes – and we’re let loose into the street, to continue on our journey out of the dark wood.
