AVARICIOUS by Michael Spence, with the ensemble and contributions by Kat Sandler (Theatre Gargantua). At Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace (16 Ryerson). Runs to November 21. $25, some discounts. 416-504-7529. See listing. Rating: NNN
Occupy movement anger meets climate change worries in Avaricious, Theatre Gargantua‘s visually entrancing but uneven new work.
On the eve of a devastating flood, a homeless man (Michael Spence) and an activist (Pam Patel) find themselves in the multi-storey building owned by a greedy capitalist named Mr. Atlas (Patrick Howarth).
The script, penned by Spence and the ensemble, with contributions by Kat Sandler, covers a lot of ground, but only superficially. There’s mention of genetically modified foods and even a reference to “old stock” (a jab at Stephen Harper’s expression?), but these aren’t carried through. The use of a masked doomsday chorus never pays off.
But Spence’s design is imaginative. Dozens of cardboard boxes are employed like Lego blocks to create everything from an office desk to a tall building, and they suggest something a grown-up billionaire child might play with. Plastic spheres evoke the globe but also the flood waters.
Of the competent ensemble, only Michelle Polak, who plays the capitalist’s overworked, underappreciated assistant and his feisty mother, stands out.
