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April 20 - April 27,2003 |
The World's A Stage
Tamara among live shows that let audience in on the action
By Sarah B. Hood
Originally Published: 2003-04-06
In the early 1980s, Toronto theatre company Necessary Angel put itself on the map with an inventive production called Tamara. Set in Fascist Italy, it imagined an encounter between artist Tamara de Lempicka and author Gabriele d'Annunzio. The thing that set Tamara apart from all other shows was its complex and creative staging. Using most of a large house, it invited audience members literally to follow the story; whenever a scene ended they were allowed to choose which character to follow to hear more of the tale.
"You could actually come 10 times and follow a different character each time," explains Roger McKeen, who will reprise his role as valet Dante Fenzo when Necessary Angel remounts Tamara as part of this year's World Stage theatre festival. Are you more interested in love or politics, in the servants or their masters? Your choices say something about you, McKeen says, "It actually makes a comment on the person themselves."
McKeen's character has the most direct connection to the audience. "I meet every single one of them, and I give them their papers - their passport - and I explain to them the rules," he says. (Living under Fascism, of course there are some rules.)
At intermission, coffee and cake is served. "Dante encourages people to talk to each other," he continues, so those who followed one part of the story may share information with those who saw another.
Audiences have reacted very personally to the show. While McKeen was performing with a broken toe, some would insist upon carrying baggage upstairs for him. Once, when "Tamara" announced her plans to the servant in French only, one of the audience members told him: "Dante, she's leaving."
The show can be demanding, McKeen warns. People are advised to wear running shoes, and at certain times characters may actually run from floor to floor; they won't wait for slow-moving followers. Chairs are provided in some of the hallways, however, so that the less nimble can watch the action in more than one space at a time.
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