STRANGE MARY STRANGE by Evan Tsitsias. Passe Muraille Backspace. August 12 at 2 pm, August 13 at 4:30 pm, August 14 at 7 pm. See listing Rating: NNNN
Mary Strange (Sarah McVie) confronts her troubled past through two sides of her earlier self, one sexually aggressive (Emma Mackenzie Hillier) and the other an innocent child (Catherine Rainville).
Living in a world of secrets, escapist fantasies and rituals meant to cover the horror just out of sight, Mary has discovered at an early age what it’s like to scratch a sexual itch.
Evan Tsitsias’s script is occasionally overwritten, and some viewers might find the theme of child sexuality disturbing. But Tsitsias and co-director Esther Jun stage a gripping, sometimes harrowing, production with a trio of first-class performers. The movement devised by Trevor Coop is another vital part of the show.
This is a play that lingers after the lights come up.
