by AMY BARRATT

Maybe it’s the name, but I’ve been rooting for Underdog Productions ever since I first heard of their existence over a year ago. The company has been struggling to get a foothold in the crowded independent theatre scene, but with their current production, Earshot, playing at Théàtre Calixa-Lavallée, they prove themselves to be a valuable addition to the landscape.

The play, by Vancouver-based playwright Morris Panych, is about a man plagued by hypersensitive hearing. Doyle rarely leaves his apartment and often wears sound-proofing headphones, even around the house. He is doomed to overhear his neighbours talking, chewing, scratching themselves. He “sees” what each of them is doing as clearly as if there were no walls between them.

It’s a fascinating idea, one that Panych (Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, Lawrence and Holloman, Vigil) approaches with great wit and (dark) humour. The writing lets us think we know where it’s going and then veers off suddenly in a surprising direction.

This play presents a number of challenges for director and performer. To begin with, it requires this character who is supposedly so sensitive to noise to carry on a 90-minute monologue. Wouldn’t the sound of his own voice in his head be deafening? Although Panych’s script has him addressing his neighbours, he doesn’t really expect them to hear. Perhaps he speaks aloud to let off steam; perhaps his own voice helps drown out a million other irritating sounds. Panych doesn’t give us a pat answer, so it’s up to the company to work it out.

Director Frances Balenzano and actor Brad Carmichael have tried to deal with the problem by having Doyle speak in a soft, strangled-sounding voice. You get a sense of the emotions surging in him and at the same time his awareness that if he gives into them he will cause himself severe pain. Unfortunately, Carmichael’s rapid-fire delivery and tendency to swallow words leaves the audience not hearing quite enough.

The opening sequence of the play, with the actor shown moving in silhouette behind a white sheet, is a good example of creativity and ingenuity on a shoestring budget. The sound montage at the beginning could have been louder to give the audience a sense of what everyday life must be like for Doyle.

Carmichael wears his hair long and in his eyes for the duration of the show. This is meant to convey a general slovenliness, and it does, but it also keeps the character removed from us in a way that I’m not sure, especially combined with his strangled voice, is good for the performance. Also, he should try to keep the number of times he speaks directly upstage to a bare minimum.

All in all, this is a performance worth seeing in an intriguing play.

Someone say Fringe?

Applications are now available for Montreal Fringe 2006. They can be downloaded from the Web site at www.montrealfringe.ca and must be dropped off or received by mail by 6 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 7. The annual drawing of the names according to the Fringe’s lottery system will be carried out that evening at 8 p.m. at Mainline Theatre (3997 St-Laurent). Open to the public.

Earshot is at Theatre Calixa-Lavallée (Parc Lafontaine) through nov. 5, at 8 p.m., $12–$15, 733-2543

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