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Of the thousands of plays I've seen in Toronto, I've encountered dozens of program warnings about what I'm about to see and hear: haze, fog, strobe lighting, herbal cigarette smoking, fake gunshots, foul language, nudity, etc.
But until seeing Susanna Fournier's play "Take Rimbaud" at Buddies in Bad Times, I'd never before been warned about someone eating Honey Nut Cheerios -- with "natural almond flavour" -- onstage.
To be fair, the warning doesn't quite go far enough. Not only does a character munch on the dry breakfast cereal, but they throw it around the stage, so much so that when I left Buddies in Bad Times, exhausted and perplexed after the 105-minute play, I crunched little Os beneath my shoes.
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Is that a metaphor for the play? Was I ruthlessly crunching on the hopes and "cheery" dreams of these artists? Perhaps. Mostly I thought about what a mess this would be to clean up.
Fournier's premise is that throughout history, artists have had a tough time. The ancient Greek poet Sappho allegedly leapt to her death over unrequited love. In the 1870s garrets of Paris, poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine carried on a tempestuous relationship that ended with a gunshot and imprisonment. In the middle of the 20th century, American poet Sylvia Plath ended a promising career by gassing herself in an oven.
To update things, the playwright gives us more modern versions of these romanticized figures. Some time in the 2010s in Toronto, R (Thomas Mitchell Barnet) meets filmmaker Paul (Julian De Zotti) online for a hookup, after dozens of DMs. Sapph (Rose Tuong), a gifted and celebrated 21st century poet, happens upon Sylv (Ruth Goodwin), an aspiring young writer, with her head in an oven -- but it's electric, so she's fine.
Fournier, whose ambitious and uneven Empire Trilogy spanned 500 years of imagined history, does some intriguing things with her modern avatars. For instance, at a big party in the middle of the show, Sylv meets Paul, who's becoming tired (and a little jealous) of his prolific and reckless lover. Sylv bites him on the cheek in the same way that Plath bit her future husband Ted Hughes, leaving her mark.
And there are some cutting observations about what it takes to make and sell art in the modern era.
In one of the sharpest scenes, Sapph is at a meeting with her book editor/publicist (Hallie Seline), who talks about how challenging it is to brand artists these days. She pushes Sapph to lean into her LGBTQ+ identity. Also, because pronouns are becoming important, she asks if Sapph has pronouns.
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Critics also come under fire. After one of Sapph's books was trashed by a critic, the review prompted someone on Reddit to trash the critic, resulting in the book selling more copies.
All of this would be entertaining in a light satire about artists' lives. But Fournier and director ted witzel have more serious goals in mind. In a program note, witzel -- who's also the artistic director of Buddies, which is partnering in this Howland Company production -- discusses the idea of the "value" of art.
Some people, he writes, discuss how art contributes to a country's gross domestic product. He's got a point; how many times do we read about festivals like TIFF or the Fringe contributing to local businesses? Why should that matter?
Fournier's play itself seems to be about putting on a play -- or making any kind of art. In the opening moments, we have actors dressed as stagehands calling lighting and sound cues. That continues throughout the show, with many of these underused actors -- including Breton Lalama, Seline, Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster and Cameron Laurie -- stepping in to play supporting characters discussing political and economic theories.
There's not much to look at in Ting-Huan Christine Urquhart's set, which suggests the scaffolding, particle-board platforms and trunks that you might find backstage at a traditional theatre. An oversized replica of a portrait of an ancient figure -- perhaps Sappho? -- descends from the rafters, as if watching us all.
The audience sits on two risers along a corner of the playing area, resulting in some sound problems. Occasionally, scenes are projected onto screens (Nicole Eun-Ju Bell is credited as the projection designer). But the images are hazy and vague.
Throughout the play, I kept wondering: What are the obstacles today's artists are facing? Shrinking government funds? Distracted and dwindling audience?
As the world burns, we are all scrambling about how to survive. Accountants, shopkeepers, bus drivers, critics.
Experiencing great art can change us forever.
"I don't see theatre, so maybe that was good," says Goodwin's character at one point.
Believe me, Sylv. It could have been so much better.
Joshua Chong Alerts Whether it's theatre, opera or film, Joshua's perspective brings Toronto's arts scene to life. Sign up for updates today.
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