Sean Power - Reviews & Interviews

Stuck
18 Jul 1996 - Now Magazine:
"Stuck takes beat of street" (by Jill Lawless)

THEATRE REVIEWS
By JILL LAWLESS

Stuck takes beat of street

STUCK,
by David Rubinoff, directed by Chad Dembski, with Sean Power.
Presented by Playing for Keeps and the Fringe of Toronto at the Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse. July 7-14. $8.
Rating: NNNN

Stuck traces the crosstown odyssey of Jack, an unemployed actor in search of money, dope, food and love. A restless, observant outsider, he considers himself a modern-day Kerouac, and so does playwright David Rubinoff.

Rubinoff's inventive play updates the style and energy of the Beats from the conformist, prosperous 50s to the conformist, depressed 90s. So it's written in rhythmic, driving language. but with rebellious excitement replaced by bitter desperation.

Rubinoff retains the Beats' playful excitement with language and flair for sharp, heightened perception. As Jack navigates an ever more frustrating array of urban hazards - drug dealers, mental patients, Mormons - the piece grows by turns funny, sordid and sensuous. Jack may be stuck, but it's in a novel, revealing niche.

Under the focused direction of Chad Dembski, Sean Power - a compact dynamo of an actor - is powerfully intense and casually versatile. It's an impressive performance all around.