Storming the stage

Repercussion Theatre’s The Tempest
brings Shakespeare’s classic desert
island tale to a park near you

FATHER KNOWS BEST: Greg Kramer and Emily Skaha

By NEIL BOYCE

The opening remarks and thank-yous for Repercussion Theatre’s 20th year in business said it all: “...and to our major sponsor, Mother Nature.” A flooded out performance the previous night meant July 23 was now the season opener, and no matter what—rain, thunder, killer bees, zombie attack—by God, they were getting through the play this time.

Said sponsor can be a harsh mistress to a company whose mission is to perform theatre outdoors: raining out shows, blowing around sets and hairdos, and chilling crowds camped out on the grass. Once in a while, though, she gets it exactly right. On a tiny promontory at the eastern end of the Old Port, surrounded by water, with a major storm brewing throughout the first half, we were treated to an ultimately heavily rained-on show that was, as it happened, the ideal setting for Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

Greg Kramer does most of the play’s heavy lifting and is a superb Prospero. He is master of all he surveys on the enchanted island and its architect of chaos, causing the tempest that strands his enemies, and setting the labyrinthine plot in motion. He gets to show off a little of his magic skills, and his precise Queen’s English contrasts nicely with the softer Montreal anglo and accented Québécois dialects of the other players.

Aurélie Morgane was lovely as Ariel, Prospero’s spirit servant, and whose flute playing was incorporated into the performance, her rain-soaked makeup only adding to the character’s ethereal appearance.

Amelia Sargisson was a blast as Caliban, the half-human creature dwelling on the island, and tore through the part with abandon. Savage and unrestrained, half-drunk and half-crazy, Sargisson’s Caliban perfectly embodied the wildness of the enchanted isle.

In the love-interest department, Emily Skahan’s Miranda was sweetness personified, while Jean-Philippe Baril-Guérard as Ferdinand was appropriately dashing, with only an occasional tongue-tripping over language that sometimes proved a mouthful for other native French-speakers in the cast (though it will be interesting to see how everyone does when they perform the alternate-night French version, la Tempête.)

Antoine Yared’s twin roles as Sebastian and Stefano show the young actor building from earlier roles on his natural facility to project a memorable, panicked and farcical kind of humour. Also performing double-duty work was Danielle Désormeaux as Alonza and a masked Trincula, delivering nicely in the latter role as a buffoonish schemer.

The clouds finally burst after intermission, soaking actor and audience alike, but nobody cared much and most weathered it out, because the combined effect of a great play, a spirited cast—and in Paul Hopkins, a director who can coax magic out of text and actor—made it more than merely enduring the rain; it seemed to propel everyone into areas of greater emotion and concentration, making the evening a memorable and exciting event.

The evening was also marked by the announcement of a new yearly Cas Anvar Award to promising young talent. Anvar, founder of Repercussion Theatre and now an actor getting steady work in L.A., was on hand to reminisce.

Continuing through the summer, The Tempest is everything one could want in a production, including being free of charge—but do give a donation when they pass around the hat.