BREAKFAST: A PRODUCTION IN PROGRESS
Featuring Anna Chatterton, Evalyn Parry, Karin Randoja. Directed by Brendan Healy. Created by Anna Chatterton, Evalyn Parry, Karin Randoja, Brendan Healy. Written by Anna Chatterton and Evalyn Parry. To June 1. $20. Wed-Sat 8pm; Sun 2:30pm. The Theatre Centre, 1087 Queen W. 416-538-0988.
www.theatrecentre.org.
Moment by moment, this 70-minute creation is utterly compelling, even if Breakfast’s dark, absurdist progression eventually defies description. Fans of the literal and linear need not attend. But adventurers who surrender to this play about transformation will be rewarded by visceral theatre. Like an orgasm, it’s hard to describe but you know when you’ve had one.
On the small, brightly lit set of a low-rent kitchen, a frowsy woman named Marni (Karin Randoja) is in pajamas and housecoat, making coffee. When she puts a self-help cassette into a small tape deck, the low urging tones of a female voice come forth, provided by miked actor Evalyn Parry, who’s semi-lit offstage.
The “tape” moves quickly from run-of-the-mill affirmation to a spookily interactive drama of the mind. Marni is prodded/ordered to embrace increasingly bizarre scenarios: a fantasy dress-up, a tawdry childhood memory, the dissolution of physical reality.
The efficiency of set and props is mirrored in the dialogue and pacing. It’s a sleek, relentless ride, with emotional glue courtesy of the psycho-savvy script and Randoja’s absorbing, fearless performance. What does it take to truly change?
Breakfast constantly changes and patrons are invited back ($5 with your ticket stub on May 27) to examine the evolution. It’s a tempting prospect, if only to gain more insight into why it was so affecting.