Sean Power - Reviews & Interviews

The Love of the Nightingale
29 Apr 1992 - The Gazette:
"National Theatre School's Nightingale a treat - and it's free" (by Pat Donnelly)

National Theatre School's Nightingale a treat - and it's free

PAT DONNELLY
GAZETTE THEATRE CRITIC

Violence against women wasn't invented yesterday; that's the sobering thought that lingers after seeing Timberlake Wertenbaker's The Love of the Nightingale.

This retelling of an ancient Greek myth reveals unsettling parallels between ancient and modern times.

Getting to see two excellent productions of this same, superlative play, within the same season, is a rare treat.

Presented recently at McGill, the play is now being performed at the Strathearn Centre by this year's English graduating class of the National Theatre School.

The Most striking difference between the two productions is in the size of the theatre.

McGill's Moyse Hall has a large proscenium stage while the Strathearn Centre Theatre is only a tiny space with a few banks of stacking chairs.

The NTS students, accustomed to working in larger spaces, initially have trouble toning down their performances to suit the intimacy of the Strathearn. However, as the play progresses, so does the acting.

In The Love of the Nightingale, an Athenian princess named Procne (Karen,Turner) marries an uncivilized Thracian named Tereus (Sean Power and bears him a son. Lonely for her homeland, she asks her husband to bring her sister Philomele (Missy Christensen) for a visit. On the return voyage to Thrace, Tereus rapes Philomele and cuts out her tongue to keep her silent. The sisters are eventually reunited and Philomele wreaks a bloody vengeance.

All the principals acquit themselves admirably. Alanis King-Odjig gives interesting, fresh readings to the lines of Niobe, the world-weary norse. And Xavier MacDonald cuts an aptly tragic figure as the ship's captain.

Student set designer Boni Juan has done an amazing job of turning the Strathearn space into a desert with a sand-castle skyline. Both he and student director Ann Hodges should be able to find plenty of employment after graduation. Hodges has kept the production lively and given it a strong Middle Eastern feel. Karen Jones's costumes and masks beautifully follow this cue.

Since there is no admission charge and seating is limited, you are advised to get there early.

The Love of the Nightingale, by Timberlake Wertenbaker, presented by the National Theatre School at the Strathearn Centre, 3680 Jeanne Mance St., through Saturday. Admission is free. For information, call 842-7954.