Railroad rambling

>> Trevor Ferguson’s Long, Long, Short, Long
is long, long, long

by AMY BARRATT

It’s appropriate that the word “long” appears three times in the title of Trevor Ferguson’s wordy new play, currently running at the Monument-National.
The respected novelist’s first attempt at writing for the theatre, Long, Long, Short, Long is the culmination of infinitheatre’s inaugural summer season, following close on the heels of Jacob Richmond’s Small Returns. Both plays were commissioned from the authors by infini.

The little company appears to have bet the farm on this show, creating a beautiful looking production of a rambling text that’s unfortunately not yet ready for an audience.
Something similar was true of Richmond’s play. Both of these guys can write up a storm, but in Richmond’s case, ideas ricocheted around so quickly that you didn’t know where to look; Ferguson, on the other hand, spends so much time trying to reveal characters and relationships that one despairs of anything actually happening in his play. Despite all that character development, the few real plot elements in the script feel less than organic.

Long, Long, Short, Long (the title refers to the blasts of a train whistle) is set in 1967 in a train car home to five disparate (and sometimes desperate) men, employed in the building of a railway bridge in northern B.C. The painstakingly re-created car is a masterpiece of design by Maryse Bienvenu, skilfully lit by Robin A. Paterson, with special effects (lots of B.C. rain) by Gaspar Brabant.

Under the direction of Guy Sprung, five actors labour valiantly to bring this text to life, but are hampered by blocking that frequently has them turn their backs on half the house, and acoustics that swallow up far too many lines.

The always intense Peter Batakliev portrays Nuno, a Portuguese paterfamilias who is slaving his life away to support the perpetual university careers of his spoiled children. Dino Tavarone plays Italian-born Frank, for whom an honest day’s labour is an end in itself.

Lou Vani plays none-too-bright Dino, whose job is to clean up after the others. Although he provides welcome comic relief, it’s baffling when, following a traumatic incident, he’s immediately back to his goofy self. Brett Watson is Cliff, a bright, wisecracking bad boy who looks back fondly on his days in prison. It’s great to see the talented Watson in a role so well-suited to him, one that may bear a resemblance to the young Ferguson.
Andreas Apergis plays “Zend,” a commanding Dutchman with the passions of a Lothario and the soul of a poet. Although a strong stage presence, Apergis is lost in this pivotal role. He struggles with an accent that’s all over the map, and in the process loses hold of his character.

Ferguson is going for something big and ambitious in this piece—at its best, the writing is reminiscent of American greats like Eugene O’Neil and Arthur Miller—but the text wasn’t ready for a full production. I hope that seeing it will give the author a sense of what works in theatre and what doesn’t. It’s not simply cutting that is needed—although at the current three hours it feels interminable. Ferguson reaches for the poetry in the lives of these manual labourers, but it too often seems artificially imposed on them. :

Long, Long, Short, Long continues to July 14, at salle DuMaurier of the Monument-National. Tickets $18–28

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