HUSH,THE LATEST PLAY from Rosa Laborde, the talented creator of the widely praised Leo of four years ago, had its world premiere at the Tarragon Theatre on Feb. 9 with the production running until March 21.
We Torontonians have been blessed with some very impressive young artists recently. Hannah Moscovitch (creator of the powerful and beautifully written East of Berlin) comes to mind, and I nodded my head with pleasure when Laborde told me that she had been “developing a couple of series for TV” with Moscovitch recently and that the two are best of friends.
Leo was nominated for Outstanding New Play at the Dora Mavor Moore Awards and for a Governor General’s Literary Award as well, so Laborde’s gifts have already been recognized.Now one can safely add Hush to her growing fame. Her new, 80-minute, one-act play avoids any talk of a “sophomore slump.”
Critics should always inform their readers if the play they are reviewing was seen in one of its previews — as is the case here — especially if it is a world premiere.
But imagine this critic’s horror when he was approached by the young playwright outside the Tarragon’s Extra Space following the last preview of Hush.
“I saw you making notes,” she said. “But I’m still making changes.”We agreed to talk by phone the next day, so Ms. Laborde seemed relieved, as was I. She admitted to me that “the changes are minimal, more tonal.” On with the review.
I once read a study of George Bernard Shaw that joyfully noted that “only G.B.S. could write a play starring a main character who is a dentist.”
Hush stars two of them, both roles wonderfully acted by veteran actors Graeme Somerville and Conrad Coates alongside Tara Rosling and almost-newcomer Vivien Endicott-Douglas as the “almost 13-year-old” daughter of Harlem (Somerville).
Most plays suffer from any attempt to capture their plot in a few words.
(Imagine a blurb on King Lear: “a ruler has tensions with his three daughters.”). Hush would be similarly diminished: “a young girl suffers from nightmares, driving her father to near despair” does not begin to capture the beauty of this new play, the gorgeous all-black set with its shockingly white silk sheet playing everything from bed cover to newborn baby, and the four perfect, memorable performances.
Like all fine works of art, Hush is far more than the sum of its parts. It portrays the agony of pubescence in brilliant fashion, the rational and scientific versus the passionate and emotional, mother-daughter and parent-child relationships.
The play is filled with wit, horrifying moments, inspired time shifts and real surprises.
Richard Rose, artistic director of the Tarragon, so triumphant in his recent work on Michael Healey’s excellent Courageous, has rarely been better, and Laborde is a young Canadian to continue to watch with excitement. I recommend this highly.
