by AMY BARRATT

I have loved other books more, but never have I been so utterly swept up into another world as when I first read Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. For three days I only put it down long enough to stagger to the stove and make tea or to catch a few hours of fitful sleep. I confess I have never read the novel variously known as The Devils, The Possessed or The Demons, but I was nevertheless excited to see how Alexandre Marine and company would adapt this work for the stage. On an appropriately miserable November night, I ventured out to see ...et la petite araignée rouge..., a Théâtre Deuxième Réalité-Productions l'araignée rouge co-production at Théâtre La Chapelle.

Whenever Marine is at the helm of a project, you know that you're going to get something fundamentally theatrical. No matter how wordy the material he begins with, this Russian-born director's work always emphasizes experiencing the story viscerally, through the senses.

Dostoevsky's tale has been transplanted to contemporary Quebec, not, as Marine writes in his program notes, because the author needs updating, but because he is uncannily relevant despite the 150 years or so that have elapsed since The Devils was first published.

Working with 12 actors and four designers straight out of UQÀM's École supérieure de théâtre, Marine has created a piece of theatre rich in movement, rhythm, sound and colour. It has some unforgettable characterizations: David Buyle as the hyperactive "Doctor" Lajoie, Fannie Bellefeuille as the hysterical landlady, and some riveting two-person scenes, such as when a desperate Stella (Virginie Darmalingom) turns to her former lover Alexandre (Maxime Loyer) for help.

While the characters and relationships are fascinating in their own right, Dostoevsky's narrative is virtually lost in the adaptation. The novel deals with a small band of "radicals" who try to stir up revolt in a small town and end up wreaking havoc. This political agenda is virtually invisible in the play. We learn all in flashback that a group of student types led by Nicolas Chamberland (Stavrogin in the novel) go to Montreal and that by the time they leave several people are dead. Early scenes are sometimes illuminated by later events, but very often plot lines are just left dangling.

This little red spider is worth seeing for the staging and to be introduced to a group of emerging artists, but I sense that this production only scratches the surface of the novel. I think I'll turn the heat way down, don some fingerless gloves and curl up with The Devils.

Cherry on top

Watching Cherry Docs, it's easy to see that playwright David Gow started off as an actor. In this intense, somewhat speech-heavy play, he has created two seriously juicy roles: a skinhead charged with murder and the Jewish lawyer defending him. Actors Gordon Gammie and Conor Green along with director Christian Barry create a pressure-cooker atmosphere in the tiny Geordie space. The production, which has been touring Eastern Canada, is very basic, with all attention focused on the two men. Probably as a result of having played mostly bigger houses, the acting sometimes seems too big for this space. Still, the issues raised by this character clash keep you thinking long after the stage has gone dark. n

...et la petite araignée rouge... to Nov. 23 at Théâtre la chapelle (3700 St-Dominique), 843-7738

Cherry Docs to Nov. 22 at Geordie Space (4001 Berri, #103) Tickets available at the door

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