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Culture Theatre

Grounded provides a fine vehicle for actor Carly Street

GROUNDED by George Brant (Theatre Six). At the Streetcar Crowsnest Scotiabank Community Studio (345 Carlaw). Runs to February 29. $20-$29. See listing. Rating: NNN


The great thing about theatre is it can get you to empathize with people you wouldn’t ordinarily meet. 

Take the central character in Grounded, the debut production by Theatre Six. A female U.S. Air Force fighter pilot identified only as The Pilot (Carly Street), she’s very good at her job of shooting down people and things in the Middle East. But when a pick-up in a bar with a man named Eric leads to her getting pregnant, the two decide to marry and raise the child, whom they call Sam. 

When The Pilot returns to work, she discovers her job of flying in the sky is now redundant instead, she reluctantly moves near Las Vegas to a base where she’s trained to operate drones. From the safety and anonymity of this base, she can follow and shoot her targets across the globe. This satisfies her – until it doesn’t. And soon her mind begins playing tricks on her: like when she believes she’s targeting a car that looks exactly like the car she herself has been driving. 

George Brant‘s solo play must have been a revelation when it premiered in 2012, when the world didn’t know much about drone warfare. But eight years later it’s not such a novelty, and the play’s characters and observations – the sky is called “the blue,” the screen The Pilot navigates is “the grey” – feel a bit thin. 

Theatre Six artistic director Kerry Ann Doherty‘s production is spare, with Melanie McNeill‘s set suggesting both a miniature runway and the emotional and literal deserts around The Pilot and the drone. When The Pilot messes up the precisely placed sand onstage, it’s oddly effective. But some more technical or computer-generated imagery might bring home the idea of digital warfare in a more immediate way.

Above all, this show provides a superb showcase for a strong actor. Despite a few dropped lines, the Dora Award-winning Street easily captures The Pilot’s down-to-earth attitude and swagger, as well as her increasingly ambivalent attitude towards her profession. If only there had been a bit more subtlety and emotional resonance to the script, she could soar. 

@glennsumi

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