On The Fringe!
Whitney Moran at the Atlantic Fringe Festival
“In The Valley”
By Natasha MacLellan
Forerunner Playwright’s Theatre
Plutonium Playhouse, September 6th, 2011.
Creating an atmosphere of awkwardness thicker than the worst first date imaginable, MacLellan’s short theatrical insight will make you feel like the third wheel—in a good way!
With a minimalist set and baroque piano accompaniment Theresa sits alone at a table stroking her glass of wine, soon to be joined by 5 potential suitors one after another who are will ‘pitch’ themselves in 3 minutes. MacLellan’s “In The Valley”, debuting at this year’s Atlantic Fringe Festival, wryly approaches dating as a ‘product’ of an alienating, face-paced society while bending gender roles and oscillating between humour and heartache, touching on both the joys of love as well as the ways it wounds us. Because this play is so dialogue heavy—and most often one-sided—the power of facial expression, body movement as well as the quality of the script could have easily been over-dramatized in order to get this message across—but “In The Valley” achieves this with a sense of such casual honesty, that I was made to feel like less of an audience member and more of a voyeur. Featuring the highs, lows, tears, and laughs of any powerful relationship, this little play did big things in it’s short running time, always maintaining a sense of familiarity and – most importantly — hope.
Upcoming shows:
Thursday, September 8th @645PM
Friday, September 9th @645PM
(both shows at Plutonium Playhouse, 2315 Hunter St., Halifax)
www.atlanticfringe.ca
“In The Valley”
By Natasha MacLellan
Forerunner Playwright’s Theatre
Plutonium Playhouse, September 6th, 2011.
Creating an atmosphere of awkwardness thicker than the worst first date imaginable, MacLellan’s short theatrical insight will make you feel like the third wheel—in a good way!
With a minimalist set and baroque piano accompaniment Theresa sits alone at a table stroking her glass of wine, soon to be joined by 5 potential suitors one after another who are will ‘pitch’ themselves in 3 minutes. MacLellan’s “In The Valley”, debuting at this year’s Atlantic Fringe Festival, wryly approaches dating as a ‘product’ of an alienating, face-paced society while bending gender roles and oscillating between humour and heartache, touching on both the joys of love as well as the ways it wounds us. Because this play is so dialogue heavy—and most often one-sided—the power of facial expression, body movement as well as the quality of the script could have easily been over-dramatized in order to get this message across—but “In The Valley” achieves this with a sense of such casual honesty, that I was made to feel like less of an audience member and more of a voyeur. Featuring the highs, lows, tears, and laughs of any powerful relationship, this little play did big things in it’s short running time, always maintaining a sense of familiarity and – most importantly — hope.
Upcoming shows:
Thursday, September 8th @645PM
Friday, September 9th @645PM
(both shows at Plutonium Playhouse, 2315 Hunter St., Halifax)
www.atlanticfringe.ca
