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Culture Theatre

Moss Park

MOSS PARK by George F. Walker (Green Thumb Theatre). At Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace (16 Ryerson). To Nov 16. $15-$32.50. 416-504-7529. See listing. Rating: NNN

George F. Walker’s new sequel to his 1993 young adult drama Tough! drops in on 20-somethings Tina (Haley McGee) and Bobby (Graeme McComb) two years later to find them separated, still struggling with poverty, but now negotiating a possible reconciliation. It’s not Walker’s darkest or most profound play, but his signature gritty realism and knack for finding absurd humour in desperate situations is ably delivered in this quick 65-minute blast.

Like Tough!, Moss Park takes the form of an extended discussion between Tina and Bobby as they hash out their hopes, fears and dreams to determine if there is any way to make their relationship work.

For Tina, who’s taking care of their two-year-old daughter, Holly, and also facing eviction from her mother’s low-rent apartment, their relationship chances are a matter of numbers: can Bobby – carefree and seemingly unemployable – get serious about adulthood and land a stable job that earns enough to cover rent, utilities and food each month?

McGee is fascinating to watch her painfully self-aware character oscillates between condescendingly seeming “so over” Bobby and his foolish antics and vulnerable moments when lust and love get tangled and confused with her economic need for his companionship. McComb at times struggles to convincingly come across as a slow-witted loser, but that’s a slight flaw in this otherwise very realistic production.

Director Patrick McDonald keeps the back-and-forth verbal sparring fast-paced, but knows when to slow down for emphasis an extended pause near the play’s midpoint is held to just the right length to let the preceding fireworks resonate. A moment when both characters receive calls on their cellphones at the same time sticks out as a little too tongue-in-cheek, but doesn’t really detract.

Walker is known for tempering his bleak observations with dark humour that plays on the absurdity of these situations, and here jokes about biker gangbangs, kidnapped jockeys and jobs lost on the very first day cut the otherwise depressing fare.

Contributing to the realistic rendering of the Moss Park neighbourhood is a great set by designer Martin Conboy that uses a chain-link fence to constrain the characters to the front quarter of the stage, materially mirroring the invisible social and economic barriers they both face. Bits of garbage – a discarded mattress and a wooden loading pallet – nicely symbolize the modest goals of a home and a job so frustratingly out of reach. The cherry on top is a street lamp that lights up partway through.

While it might not stand with his most celebrated works, Moss Park is an enjoyable hit for Walker junkies jonesing for a fix, and a worthwhile think piece for the high school crowd.

stage@nowtoronto.com

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