THEATRE REVIEW: JITTERS
2 Jul'10

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

In the world of Canadian theatre, JITTERS stands out on a few fronts. Not only did David French's 1979 examination of the backstage world enjoy a degree of success unusual for a Canadian play of its time, it did it as a comedy — a field which Canadian playwrights have largely chosen to pass by on their way to toil in the more arduous fields of drama.

So,naturally, on the heels of successful revivals of French's LEAVING HOME, OF THE FIELDS, LATELY and SALT-WATER MOON — three of the playwright's most successful dramas —   it was all but inevitable that Soulpepper prepare itself for an attack of the JITTERS, just for a change of pace. The new production of JITTERS opened at the Young Centre Wednesday.

Set in a fictitious Toronto theatre, JITTERS purports to document the goings-on as a small theatre company prepares to premiere a new work from a budding young playwright, played by Mike Ross.

It is titled 'The Care and Treatment of Roses' and it bears more than a passing resemblance to French's LEAVING HOME, judging from the scant bits the audience is permitted to see. In between those brief glimpses, French treats us to heaping helping of the kind of madness that ensues when you place massive egos on a collision course with destiny.

As it develops, a lot is riding on this production, for not only is 'The Care and Treatment' meant to be a comeback of sorts for its leading lady, boldly played by Diane D'Aquila, it offers a whole new range of opportunity for its entire cast, thanks to the fact that it has caught the attention of a New York producer, who is planning on attending opening night, upping the pressure significantly.

While D'Aquila's leading lady relishes a chance to return to triumph in a Broadway show, her leading man, played by C. David Johnson, is more than a little un-nerved by the thought of tackling the Great White Way after a lifetime on Canada's smaller stages.
Similarly, the director, played by Kevin Bundy and the remainder of the cast — Oliver Dennis as an incredibly insecure mamma's boy and Noah Reid as a novice hungry for his first big break — find the whole thing rather daunting too.

Meanwhile, the backstage crew — the stage manager, played by Jordan Pettle, and Abena Malika and Sarah Wilson as props master and front-of-house manager respectively — just try to do their jobs.

In spinning out the tale, French strings together stage clichés as if they were Christmas lights to dazzle his audience — and sometimes, under the real-life direction of Ted Dykstra, it works and the on-stage hysteria reaches critical mass and tips over into hilarity.

But ultimately, despite a few cogent comments on the unique nature of Canadian theatre (and some salty commentary on the nature of criticism), it is all little more than an inside joke and Dykstra and his cast take a wrong turn almost immediately. Stumbling under the weight of the verisimilitude they try to impose on the tale instead of going with its silliness, they succeed mostly in underscoring the fact that dilettantes such as these would have been unable to carve a professional career for themselves in the then-hard-scrabble world of Canadian theatre.

Ironically, that is underlined in the set designer Patrick Clark has created for Act II, an set in the backstage dressing rooms of the fictitious theatre where the play is set. On the walls  are 'autographs' of Canadian stage greats like Charmion King (who appeared in the original production), Gordon Pinsent and two Richards, Monette and Donat, amongst others — vivid reminders all, that while a life on stage has its moments of blissful silliness, it is finally dedication and professionalism and not ego that carries the day.