CAUGHT by Jordi Mand (Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace, 16 Ryerson). Runs to April 24. $17-$38, matinees pwyc. passemuraille.ca. See listing. Rating: NNN
Not everything is as it seems in Caught, Jordi Mands entertaining if contrived play set entirely in a nondescript, very believable little interrogation room in a Toronto shopping mall.
Security guard Trisha (Sabryn Rock) has just hauled in a teen (Jakob Ehman) for shoplifting nearly $2,000 of goods from a store. She needs to look through his wallet for his I.D. to fill out a report, but hes reluctant to grant her permission. He also tells her that he wasnt stealing he merely wanted to meet her.
Is James (the teens name) a stalker? The plot thickens when a cop, Dan (Meegwun Fairbrother), arrives. Dan and Trisha clearly have some history. Soon it becomes evident that the title of the play might not refer to James, but to Trisha, or maybe even Dan.
As in her earlier play, Between The Sheets, Mand knows how to set up high-stakes situations, and her dialogue is sharp. But the plots hinge too much on coincidence, and the characters dont have much depth.
That doesnt prevent the actors, nicely directed by Sarah Garton Stanley, from having fun with their roles. Ehman makes his teen alternately cocky, vulnerable and charming. Your feelings about him change throughout the play.
And from the moment she enters, you know that Rock is hiding something big. As the play progresses, watch how she becomes more and more uneasy.
Themes about class and police corruption are hinted at, but I just wish there were more layers to the script. During moments that are supposed to be fraught with tension or meaning, Stanley has sound designer Debashis Sinha insert sizzle noises and alters the lights on the eerily authentic set (John Thompson is production designer).
If the script were subtler, we wouldnt need those effects.
