ABRAHAM LINCOLN VA AU THÉÂTRE by Larry Tremblay, directed by Claude Poissant (Theatre PAP/Théâtre Français de Toronto). At Berkeley Street Theatre Upstairs (26 Berkeley). Runs to Sunday (November 28), Thursday-Saturday 8 pm, matinees Saturday 3:30 pm and Sunday 2:30 pm. $33-$57, stu/srs $28-$57. 416-534-6604. See listing. Rating: NNN
Larry Tremblay’s Abraham Lincoln Va Au Théâtre begins with a fascinating concept: a director hires two actors to portray film comics Laurel and Hardy and stage the murder of president Abraham Lincoln by John Wilkes Booth.
Lots of opportunity for self-referential metatheatre here, for Booth, a celebrated actor, shot Lincoln during a performance of Our American Cousin in Washington’s Ford Theatre.
The result is a series of boxes within boxes with a touch of Pirandello the audience discovers that not everything is what it first appears to be.
In this production by Montreal’s Theatre PAP, presented by Théâtre Français de Toronto, we first meet the Laurel (Maxim Gaudette) and Hardy (Patrice Dubois) figures, complete with the comedy duo’s mannerisms and some of their routines. They soon bring on the wax figure of Lincoln (Benoît Gouin), who starts to sound strangely like their director.
The next 90 minutes brings lots of plot twists that won’t be given away here those twists are less about sending the audience on a narrative rollercoaster ride than about opening up the world of the play, extending its horizon. Who would have thought that a show that begins with vaudeville would end up bringing the curtain down with Italian opera?
Tremblay (The Dragonfly Of Chicoutimi, The Ventriloquist) packs lots of themes into his script, including the nature of theatre, artistic creativity, identity and the hierarchy of stage, TV and film performers. The piece also critiques America, which one character says is “not a country but a way to do evil.”
The sharp-edged performances are a highlight of director Claude Poissant’s production, and the three actors work hard you can even see the wax on Gouin’s face start to melt with his exertion.
But for those, like myself, who don’t speak French, the sheer amount of words can be overwhelming. The English surtitles capture most of the text, but if you don’t understand the original language, you’ll find yourself reading the above-the-action translation more than watching what’s happening onstage.
As a result, Tremblay’s comments on American culture don’t have for me the bite that he intends. But just as importantly, focusing on the written translation loses the important and sometimes subtle interaction between idea and actor. By the end of the show, I felt that I’d had only a partial theatrical experience, one that seemed richer for francophones in the audience.
There are surtitled performances Saturday night and Sunday matinee.
