by AMY BARRATT

The thing is, it shouldn't work. Not as short fiction, and certainly not as a piece of theatre.

"It" is The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, the title story in Yann Martel's first book. It is also the stage adaptation of the story that recently opened at infinitheatre's Bain St-Michel home. In Helsinki, the Narrator (Joe Cobden) has made a close friend in college who turns out to be dying of AIDS. It's 1987 so the disease progresses quickly, eating away at Paul's body while his friend stands helplessly by. That's about all the plot there is, but what Helsinki has in abundance is concept.

It shouldn't work, but under the able tutelage of Bruce M. Smith, who adapted the story for the stage and directs the production, it does work - beautifully.

While Paul lies in bed, the two friends devise a way to pass the time and stave off the inevitable. They will make up a story about an imaginary family, the Roccamatios of Helsinki. The story will be structured by the 20th century. That is, starting with 1901 (the Death of Queen Victoria), the friends will take turns choosing a pivotal event from each year and using it as a springboard to spin the saga of the Roccamatios, which will be set in the present day (that is, the '80s).

The play takes a little while to get going as the Narrator sets all this up for us. Then, just as we're anticipating a rip-roaring good yarn, he admits that, beyond a few brief glimpses, he won't actually be sharing the story of the Roccamatios with us, as it is private, and not his alone to give. We begin to wonder what, if anything, the Narrator is going to share with us. Is the evening to be a survey course on 20th-century history?

Far from it. Although there can be pleasure in the odd historical tidbit picked up along the way, what this framework is really good for quickly becomes clear: revealing the character and state of mind of the storyteller.

In the early years, Paul leans towards the dramatic and depressing - the death, for instance, of anarchist leader Bonneau after a bloody siege in a Paris suburb, (1912). Meanwhile, the Narrator tries to keep things light, citing the invention of the zipper (1913). Gradually, historical events begin to reflect what is happening in the characters' present, or vice versa. The years 1939 through 1942 become a litany of invasions and declarations of war, which parallels the virus's indiscriminate invasion of all parts of Paul's body.

It's about time I told you that, repeated allusions to the character of Paul notwithstanding, the Narrator is alone on stage. His friend is represented by an empty bed and by accumulating projected images representing the years for which Paul is "responsible." The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios is a monologue, one in which the complicated intellectual framework is ultimately necessary to balance the weight of the Narrator's sorrow and anger. This role calls for the kind of emotional range that all actors want to portray, but very few can pull off as well as Cobden. He is supported by a simple but effective set by Eo Sharp, lighting by David Perreault-Ninacs, and sound by Warren Spicer.

By the end of The Helsinki Roccamatios, I think I was actually holding my breath, the better to hear the last penny drop. Theatre this good doesn't happen very often. Don't miss it.

The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios, an Infinitheatre Production runs until oct. 24 at the Bain St-Michel (5300 St-Dominique) $15–$20, 987-1774, Ext. 3

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