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Culture Theatre

Theatre as tyranny

SHE ALONE created by Hillar Liitoja and Magdalena Vasko, directed by Liitoja (DNA, 133 Bathurst). To January 21. $10-$20, Sunday pwyc. 416-504-5099. See Continuing, page 65. Rating: NN Rating: NN


If you don’t like being told what to do, give DNA Theatre ‘s She Alone a pass.

This is rule theatre in the extreme, with co-creator/director Hillar Liitoja organizing your theatrical evening, insisting on regulations, placing you in a precise viewing location.

What the audience of nine or so watch in this site-specific show has some intriguing moments, as co-creator/performer Magdalena Vasko wakes up and discovers the world of her room. I mean that literally, for she seems a newborn soul, encountering her own body for the first time, unaware of what everyday articles are for. Water glasses aren’t for drinking but for rolling on the floor a fridge door seems endlessly fascinating.

The piece has a mysterious atmosphere, a sense of fear that overcomes the character and can be read on her expressive face. Moments of Beethoven piano music echo suggestively in the silence, and Vasko’s repetitive actions suggest a troubled spirit.

The most striking aspect of the performance is the uniqueness of each viewer’s vantage point. Everyone has a subjective window onto this world, a window that does not allow all of Vasko’s actions to be visible. Everyone gets only part of the unfinished “story,” the rest of which they have to create for themselves.

And don’t show up even a minute late if you’re allowed in at all, you’re sure to get a lecture about tardiness.

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