The Shadows of the Earth festival, which ran from March 27 to 29, showcased the final products of the university theatre ensemble’s year. Festival B featured two excellent plays; Rupture, an introspective and non-linear drama about reconciling with trauma and lost time, and Finding Temperance, a tongue-in-cheek memorial of a 19th century witch that takes a turn for the worst, centering on a group of high school students.
The ensemble for Rupture set the stage for their show in the all-black room, with five boxes displaying bleak aphorisms such as “Death is Everything,” which certainly established the tone for the play’s mood. In this work, an ex-best friend in mourning, a doctor obsessed with patients dead on his watch, an epileptic teenager remembering her struggle and diagnosis, an estranged niece receiving a letter from her uncle after nine years, and a young woman lamenting her partner’s split bare all in an abstract, sort of Brechtian arena of confessions. Peppered with avant-garde flourishes – such as a moody retelling of the “tortoise and birds” fable and a scene where the characters toss a football angrily and list facts about the human body – the narrative of Rupture seems to take place outside of time. Furthermore, the performers avoid directly addressing each other – a decision that makes these confessions all the more powerful. The gaze of the audience and the “listening in” to these confessions reminds one that everyone has reconciliations, shortcomings, and things we can’t let go of – regardless of how visible one makes them, if at all.
Finding Temperance followed after a short intermission. While less immediately bleak than Rupture, the play is a sly examination of the nature of truth and adolescent curiosity in the guise of a screwball comedy. When four teenagers retell and evaluate the story of Temperance Lloyd, the last witch hanged in Britain for witchcraft (who was actually defending herself from an assault), one of the girls falls off of a cliffside to her death. Connecting to their friend’s spirit by way of a Oujia board, the others discover a shocking parallel between her story and Temperance Lloyd’s. Highlighting issues such as domestic abuse, truth, and the crushing grip of guilt, the play’s heavy moments sneak out in a powerful way, given the near-goofy nature of the story and its execution. Deftly blending physical comedy, intriguing subject matter, and pop culture pastiche, the play was an engaging and humourous work with a stunningly dark undercurrent.
If Finding Temperance has any common theme with Rupture, it’s that of the undeniable power of the unseen and unspeakable. Nonetheless, the two very different plays demonstrated a clearly successful semester of work, and a compelling and creative experience for the audience.
Rupture was written, directed, and performed by Terrell Philadelphia, Leo Hartery, Ciara Lopes, Taylor Barker, and Lauren Datta.
Finding Temperance was directed by Katie Veloso, designed by Michelle Jackson, and written and performed by Jessica Watkin, Nicole Smith, Cleo Vaillancourt, and Amanda Penwill.