THEATRE REVIEW: MONTPARNASSE
23 MAR/11

JOHN COULBOURN,
QMI Agency
Rating: 3 out of 5

For many of the artistic residents of the Montparnasse in the wake of World War I — Chagall, Man Ray, Soutine, Picasso, Stein and Hemingway to name but a few — suffering for one's art would prove to be a lucrative long-term investment. At the same time, for a few often nameless (but rarely faceless) individuals, suffering for the art of others would prove to be a pretty thankless endeavour.

They were the models for many renowned paintings, sculptures and other works of art and while the names of many of them may be well known among the cognoscenti in the arts world, to the world at large, they are merely the nameless subject of works like Nude Reclining, Nude Bathing, Nude Sleeping and the like. But now, two Toronto theatre artists have set out to change all that in a new work titled MONTPARNASSE, that opened on the Theatre Passe Muraille mainstage, a production of Groundwater Productions.

Change it, that is, to the degree that it can be changed in a work built around two fictitious Canadian women who flee the constraints of Toronto the good in favour of la vie bohème on offer in Paris the naughty, where ultimately they shed far more than a few inhibitions.

Mag is played by Erin Shields, while Amelia is played by Maev Beaty, both of whom share a writing credit under the direction of Andrea Donaldson. The more adventurous Mag is already in Paris when the show opens and, having ruled out careers in dancing and sausage making, she has doffed her duds and settled into life as an artist's model. Along the way, she has also invited the more timorous Amelia to join her in her wastrelling ways, but has neglected to leave a forwarding address.

So, upon her arrival, an already fraught Amelia's first challenge is to track down her peripatetic friend. That accomplished, she too sets out to conquer Paris, and while Amelia's ambitions trend more towards the wielding of a paintbrush than being captured by it, she soon finds herself sharing modeling assignments with her freewheeling friend, while she waits for artistic inspiration to strike. As they get caught up in the life of Montparnasse — Mag is soon embroiled in a 'meaty collaboration' with Soutine, while Amelia finds herself inspired by the the charms of literary facilitator Sylvia Beach — each of them, ever so subtly, loses her way and her focus.

They come together again, however, in a grand collaboration that ultimately destroys their friendship, even while they destroy what they've created. The entire story unfolds on an adaptable two level set, created by designer Jung-Hye Kim (and who in fairness, considering the amount of time this cast spends au natural, should share costuming credits with Mother Nature or the gene pools from which this cast has sprung).

The goal here, of course, is to examine the role inspiration plays in the world of art and the value we put on it, and while Beaty and Shields make some valid points, they ultimately fail in their attempt to offer new and fresh perspectives. Part of the problem one suspects, is the fact that, as collaborators, they fail to find a unified theatrical voice to speak on their behalf, instead contenting themselves with careering happily between theatrical styles in a manner that is frankly more exhausting than entertaining.

Nudity aside, there is much here to showcase the talents of each of these performers, although it must be said that by digging deeper, Beaty certainly seems to soar higher. But in the end, one suspects, it will take a stronger director than Donaldson to adequately showcase their abilities as playwright/collaborators.