When major theatre critics across the city give a one-person show rave reviews, one’s ears should perk up.When the subject is intriguing, if not downright irresistible, it is time to book some tickets.
And that is definitely the case with The Silicone Diaries, playing at Buddies in Bad Times until Dec. 11.
The Silicone Diaries relates the story of a man who longs to change to the sex he always felt he should have been (hardly a new or even rare happening and always at risk of being prurient or clichéd).
What creator/performer Nina Arsenault does is astounding — literally acting eight years and 60 surgical procedures, describing in intimate detail her quest to not only become a woman, but to become the woman.
To quote from the play: “Pamela [Anderson] is a caricature of a woman,and I am a caricature of her.” Certainly, our response to body image has given birth to endless changes over history.
But based on the evidence, The Silicone Diaries is sure to be a captivating production.
With its short run and low-priced seats ($19 to $33) at Buddies in Bad Times, 12 Alexander St., it certainly sounds like a very safe bet, even if dozens of illegal surgeries in Mexico may not have been.
The brilliant Seana McKenna in a so-so, if honoured play
Are you familiar with the rich, literate writing style of the American author and scriptwriter Joan Didion? You need not be familiar with the writing style of Didion to be attracted to and moved by her theatrical adaptation of her award-winning novel The Year of Magical Thinking.
Toronto’s venerable Tarragon Theatre is featuring a production of the play starring the one-and-only Seana McKenna and directed by the esteemed Michael Shamata on stage until Dec. 12.
Didion’s book was a best-seller, described as “devastating,” and the famed author chose to turn it into a play, which did well on Broadway starring Vanessa Redgrave. But the Tarragon production left an uneasy feeling. For all the brilliance of one of Canada’s foremost performers, Seana McKenna, this theatrical version of Didion’s memorable piece of non-fiction failed to move me as much as the exquisite book.
On the bare stage (save a chair in its centre and a small table on stage right, holding an open copy of the author’s book), in front of dark, mirroring glass, the beautiful McKenna stares out at her audience and declares, “It will happen to you. And it WILL happen to you. That’s why I’m here.”
The lines, such as “Grief has its place, but also its limits,” are powerful, but the frequent repetition of actress McKenna calling out to her daughter — as if to save her or bring her back from tragic death — “You’re safe! I’m here!” ultimately became too selfconsciously poetic for this writer, who expected a good cry.
What moved me most was an echo of a Christian hymn I’ve always loved, about faith in a personal God whom we expect will protect us from such nightmarish losses: “His eyes are on the sparrow / And I know He’s watching me.” Several times it was used to great effect, including in McKenna’s last line: “No eye is on the sparrow.” Truly devastating as loss of faith should be.
But, for most of the 85-minute play, and for all the excellence of Didion’s writing and McKenna’s performance, I kept thinking, “I’m glad I’m experiencing this, but it is simply not a quality piece of theatrical writing.”
