PARADISE BY THE RIVER by Vittorio Rossi (Shadowpath). At Lower Ossington Theatre (110 Ossington). To December 5. See Continuing. Rating: NNNN
The fact that history is written by the victors makes it easy to gloss over questionable acts committed by the Allies during World War II. However, this sweeping historical drama keeps one important story alive: the plight of Italian Canadians who were unjustly arrested and sent to internment camps.
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Vittorio Rossi’s expansive and comprehensive narrative focuses on two brothers separated by these events in 1940 Montreal. Romano (Chris Coculuzzi), a rising businessman, is sent to a camp in Petawawa on suspicion of being a Fascist, while his brother Cenzo (Len Batta) is left to look after the family – and constantly over his shoulder.
Director Marianne McIsaac weaves the play’s multiple plot lines tightly together with fluid transitions between realistic scenes, a multilevel set and lots of nuanced background action. Interesting developments, generally well rendered by the ensemble, come from the wide array of characters – from an actual Italian-Canadian Fascist to a sympathetic camp guard.
While Jan Michael Weir’s base commandant is weak in key moments, Ryan MacDonald proves he’s one of Toronto’s most talented character actors by expertly executing a number of roles and accents, getting lots of laughs in the process.
Despite an epic run time (close to three hours) and jarring robotic-sounding recordings used in letter-writing scenes, Paradise By The River is a genuinely moving piece of social history and an important piece of Canadian story-keeping.
