THE TALL BUILDING
Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace (16 Ryerson)
Rating: NNN
Aug 7 at 10 pm, Aug 9 at 7:30 pm, Aug 10 at 5:15 pm, Aug 12 at 10 pm, Aug 14 at 9:45 pm, Aug 15 at 7:30 pm, Aug 16 at 3 pm. 1-888-328-8384, summerworks.ca.
Playwright/director Jill Connell covers familiar territory – the need for human connection and comfort – in The Tall Building but presents the theme in an unusual fashion: its three characters live in a large apartment building in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by fire, coyotes and apathy.
The writing could be more concise, but there’s a nicely developed relationship between Sulla (Molly Flood) and a curious character simply named boy (Philip Nozuka), who yearns to be a hero. The scenes between Sulla and an assassin (Clinton Carew) are less winning. Nozuka has the best monologues and is the most engaging of the performers.
Joe Pagnan’s multilevel metal set, over which the actors crawl, suggests the trio’s inner and outer claustrophobia.
