by AMY BARRATT

If 2004-05 has been a banner season for independent theatre (and it has), some measure of credit belongs to Eric Amber, owner-manager of the Théâtre Ste-Catherine. This cozy space has been operating for little more than six months, and already it feels like an indispensable fixture. There is a positive energy about the place that seems to inspire that "Hey kids, let's put on a show" mentality. (I'm sure reasonable rental rates have something to do with it too).

Catherine Kidd presented a new-and-improved Sea Peach there in November; Gravy Bath used it for their one-man Rape of Lucrece; Neil Labute's Bash: Latterday Plays launched a promising career for Muttertung Theatre; and last week Harold Pinter's The Birthday Party became the calling card for another brand new company, Triptych Theatre. The venue has also housed full-length shows by comics such as Derrick Lengwenus and Massimo, as well as stand-up and improv nights.

Set in a soi-disant boarding house in a seaside town, The Birthday Party has the feel, off the top, of a slightly absurdist comedy. Petey and Meg, a couple in late middle age, talk in circles over breakfast about the weather, the newspaper and whether their one and only boarder will ever get up. When Stanley, an unemployed musician, does appear, he is surly and rude, but Meg nevertheless adores him. Whether her affection is strictly maternal or something else is just one of many issues that the audience will be left to ponder after the lights go down.

The relative harmony of this eccentric trio is threatened when Petey reports that he has promised accommodations to two men he met the previous night. "Menace" is a word often associated with Pinter's work, and the two new guests, in their white short-sleeved shirts and black ties, personify it.

Triptych Theatre is Daniel Giverin and Brett Watson, who play the two intruders, and Carlo Mestroni, who plays Stanley. They have hired a director as happenin' as their venue: Sid Zanforlin. Set and costumes are by a hot young designer, Katka Hubacek. The stage area of the Ste-Catherine is actually higher than it is wide, and Hubacek has made excellent use of this fact.

The cast is generally strong, with Emma Stevens and David Potter particularly delightful as Meg and Petey. Watson is having lots of fun as the fast-talking Goldberg, but physically he is quite wrong for it. He looks much too young for the part and it is difficult to believe that he dominates the older and bigger McCann (Giverin).

This is not a brilliant production, but it's a respectable one by a group we hope to hear from again.

School's out

Meanwhile, the National Theatre School is abuzz with activity. 2005's graduating directing students present their final projects April 22 to 27. Christian Barry directs Thornton Wilder's Our Town (revisited) in the school's André-Pagé Studio (April 23, 26 at 9 p.m. / April 22, 24, 27 at 7 p.m.), while Brendan Healy takes on Bernard-Marie Koltès's In the Solitude of Cotton Fields in the School's Lighting (LX) Lab (April 23, 26 at 7 p.m. / April 22, 24, 27 at 9 p.m.). Admission is free, but seating is limited so get there early.

Then English acting students perform Tony Kushner's Perestroika, Angels in America, part 2, from April 26 to 30 in the Monument-National's Ludger-Duvernay Theatre. Tickets are $7, though a $3 fee applies to bookings made over the phone, call 871-2224.

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