THEATRE REVIEW - COURAGEOUS - 8 Jan'10 Rating: 4.5 out of 5

'Courageous' look at relationships

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
8 Jan'10

TORONTO - Shaped by scores of Hollywood movies, most of our perceptions of courage are framed in sweeping terms -- lives risked and lost in defence of others or of precious ideals and that sort of thing.

But now, playwright Michael Healey offers a look at courage from a distinctive and uniquely Canadian point of view: A less obtrusive courage that shapes the daily lives of mere mortals, the kind of ordinary men and women who might only rarely catch the eye of a Hollywood producer.

It's called Courageous, and it opened in its world premiere on the Tarragon mainstage Wednesday in a co-production with Edmonton's Citadel Theatre.

And it is, in its way, a courageous play -- and not just because it ignores the established template for an evening of theatre.

Indeed, that it is really two distinct one-act plays, separated by an intermission and only tentatively joined by a common thread, is a function, one suspects, more of Healey's rumpled but endearing intellectualism than of any deep-rooted conviction.

Where the courage comes is in his decision as a heterosexual male to tackle the still thorny issues of same-sex marriage in the first half of the play

And we do mean thorny, for Healey sidesteps the conventional gay-vs.-straight POV that has heretofore marked public discourse on the subject in favour of a more homocentric point of view.

Brian, a high-octane legal type played by Patrick Galligan, wants to marry Martin (Tom Rooney) but when they show up early for their appointment at City Hall, the only one available to perform the service is Tom (Tom Barnett), a self-effacing fellow who puts the 'civil' in civil servant.

But even though Tom is gay and involved in a long- term relationship with Arthur (Maurice Dean Wint,) he is opposed to same-sex marriage on religious grounds and refuses to unite Brian and Martin.

It is a scenario that constantly threatens to tip into the predictable, but Healey and director Richard Rose handle it all like a pair of seasoned matadors, sidestepping the cliches to mine heretofore unexplored depths of comedy and compassion in a debate that for many, both gay and straight, has dragged on too long.

In the second act, Healey turns to a more conventional union -- the marriage of young Todd (Brandon McGibbon) and Tammy (Erin McKinnon) -- a young couple Tom united without reservation in the first act.

A pair of almost stereotypical slackers, they are stumbling under the unaccustomed weight of parenthood, and, while they can't catch a break, it seems their refugee neighbour (essayed by Wint, cast once again as the outsider) is all but drowning in them.

Rounded out by Melissa MacPherson, this is a first-rate cast, beautifully marshaled by director Rose on a wonderfully adaptable set created by David Boechler and lit by Andrea Lundy.

But beautifully calibrated performances from McGibbon, Galligan, Wint and the others notwithstanding, the true star of this show is Healey, who combines a keen observational eye and a finely honed wit with a love of the English language that is as dazzling as it is rare.

Finally is Healey's vision and words that make us fall in love with every single one of these characters and underscores finally that a courageous act is rarely one big thing, but rather a collection of small ones that suddenly acquire critical mass.

And without preaching, flag waving or anything even remotely resembling xenophobia, he makes us realize that Canada is just such a collection of small acts.

And that to dream of something as ephemeral as equality and justice is the ultimate act of courage.