SCAT by the company (Laugh Serious Theatre). At the Toronto Community Health Centre (168 Bathurst). July 13 at 5 and 6:30 pm, July 15 at 12:30 pm. See listing. Rating: NNN
Public washrooms tend to be pretty private places mostly people go in, do their business and get out as quickly as possible.
But in the intriguing site-specific show Scat, washrooms are the site of lots of drama, including hooking up, drinking and drug-taking and the reading of blood test results.
Writer/performers Aman Banwait, Christol Bryan and RJ Daunt take us in and out of various washrooms in the Toronto Community Health Centre, reenacting vignettes and then playing out bigger scenes in the more public areas like waiting rooms.
While the show touches on lots of issues, including race, homophobia and especially the unique pressures facing trans youths, it needs a sharper focus and a stronger script to get its points across with more urgency. The plays initial scenes set in various historical periods arent as successful as the contemporary ones.
But the young performers are confident and energetic, and director Sadie Epstein-Fine makes good use of the various spaces.
