THEATRE REVIEW: STUDIES IN MOTION: THE HAUNTINGS OF EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE
27 Nov'10

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency
Rating: 4 out of 5

TORONTO - Observing cutting edge theatre here in Toronto and across Canada these days, two things become abundantly obvious. The first is that theatre artists the world over have not only seen but embraced the future -- a technical top hat filled with all sorts of virtual rabbits, a brave new world filled with unimaginable wonder.

The second is that, even while they've seen and embraced it, they are still scrambling to figure out just what in hell to do with it, even as they throw themselves into the process of mining the seemingly unfathomable depth and breadth of new technology. And when it comes to theatrical spelunking in the caves of technology, few companies have enjoyed more success than Vancouver's Electric Company Theatre, a young company seemingly devoted to pushing the ever-expanding borders of theatre into new technological territory.

To see just how successful they have been, all you have to do is check out STUDIES IN MOTION: THE HAUNTINGS OF EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE, which opened at the Bluma Appel Theatre Thursday in a presentation of Canadian Stage.

Written by Kevin Kerr and directed by the award-winning Kim Collier, this is theatre on the very cutting edge of technology, blending as it does Robert Gardiner's video creation with the soundscape of Patrick Pennefather and the choreography of Crystal Pite (who just happens to be featured in the National Ballet of Canada's current offering of mixed programming) into a visual cocktail that is nothing if not intoxicating. The story it tells is a compelling one -- a recounting of the life and times of the eccentric genius who, it might be argued, launched this technological revolution in the world of entertainment and art, establishing the base on which not only the animation industry but the entire motion picture industry would be built.

Born in England in 1839, he emigrated to America as a young man and eventually launched himself on a career in photography, evolving into groundbreaking experiments in stop-motion photography that would eventually lead to the invention of the zoogyroscope, an early way of exhibiting motion pictures. All of that is a bit of a sidebar in STUDIES IN MOTION however, as the playwright concentrates not only on the sordid side of Muybridge's private life -- he shot and killed a theatre critic who may or may not have fathered a child in a dalliance with the inventor's young wife -- and his obsession with the nude human form in motion. (Let's just say that in this particular production, Mother Nature deserves at least as much credit for costuming as the talented Mara Gottler.)

And from a production point of view, it is all utterly breathtaking, although after over two hours of it all, it is clear Collier's gift is for creating new ways to make theatre rather than using them judiciously. Mind you, she gets scant help from Kerr's script, which seems much more concerned with establishing his cleverness (a fine pear indeed!) than with creating a sense of time or character. In the face of all this, therefore, it is refreshing to see just how much character Andrew Wheeler (cast as Muybridge) and castmates like Allan Morgan, Dawn Petten, Kyle Rideout and Jonathon Young manage to find in this scattershot collection of scenes created to showcase Collier's directoral acumen, Gardiner's technical wizardry, Pite's choreographic chops and Kerr's wit.

At some point, one hopes, this highly creative group will learn to train its focus and the prodigious talent represented therein, on simply telling a story in the best possible way, which is the basis of all fine theatre, after all. And, on that day, the earth might well move.