THE DROWNING GIRLS by Beth Graham, Charlie Tomlinson and Daniela Vlaskalic (Bent Out of Shape/Tarragon, 30 Bridgman). To Nov 15. $19-?$32. 416-?531-?1827. See listing. Rating: NNN
Like Samuel Beckett’s enigmatic post-mortem love triangle Play, The Drowning Girls conjures up three dead souls who, from beyond the grave, collectively re-enact the strikingly similar events that led to each of their murders.[rssbreak]
Set in Edwardian England and based on the dark deeds of con man/serial killer George Joseph Smith, the dream-like action casts the audience as detective and draws out the parallels in the three victims’ stories, starting with the most striking common artifact – a bathtub.
In what has to be the wettest show I’ve ever seen – Bretta Gerecke’s set is striking – the play begins with the dead trio (Beth Graham, Daniela Vlaskalic, and Natascha Girgis) submerged in footed bathtubs.
As the action unfolds, water is sloshed and splashed, sprinkled down onstage from suspended shower heads and creatively turned into a multitude of props.
In short, people in the front row get wet, but the spooky visual effects are totally worth it.
The piece is superbly acted. Girgis alternates between animated character work and haunting realism as the three corpses assume various roles to comically retrace how Smith was able to woo, con, kill and drain the finances of each woman.
But the flow of the show is uneven. Adapted from a shorter work of the same name, this one feels too long.
An off-key rendition of Nearer, My God, To Thee, for example, probably could have been cut.
stage@nowtoronto.com
