My Visit to the Tarragon Theatre

The Production of Forests – Tarragon Theatre

I had the pleasure to visit the Terragon for the first time last week in a while.   It was a special treat.  The production that I was fortunate to experience was called Forests by Wajdi Mouawad and translated by Linda Gaboriau. I was really impressed with the small venue and the acting ability. I have always associated larger companies with better quality of actors/actresses. I was obviously not correct in this viewpoint, and happy with my new theatre experience. The Tarragon theatre space is intimate and this adds to the appeal. The main space seats about 200 patrons and they have an extra space that seats 100. Another patron of the theatre mentioned “The performances I’ve attended have always been full or near full, probably because the tickets are one of the best deals in town and because they put on such interesting work.” I will definitely consider attending another performance at the Tarragon to explore it further.

“When you’ve got a big hole in your heart, nothing is enough.” Forests.

The actual Forests production was quite a trip. I felt like I was taken on a long and complicated journey. Sometimes it left me wondering where on earth I was going. At the end I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with the over all journey and the psychology behind it. The story begins with a character named Aimée when she learns that she has an unusual brain tumour. She decides to risk her life to have her child for profound reasons. Then only to die when her daughter Loup- played by Vivien Endicott-Douglas- is a teenager. Enraged and grief-stricken, Loup reluctantly begins a quest to discover the origin of her mother’s mysterious illness. This quest is an interesting windy road. It was a little disturbing at times. In a story that spans six generations and two continents, the writer Wajdi Mouawad, demonstrates that the bonds of family are not merely biological and cannot be contained. It’s not a light story, so those who are not willing to take a deep inner voyage beware. If you like a story with deep meaning that you can explore, this might just be for you. It is a story that dives into the Art of Remembering – Or Not. And, as I mentioned before the acting talent will definitely guide you with their excellent skills through the story.

The Art of Remembering – Or Not

Forests dives into the idea of memory and how it can connect us to the past – or chain us to it.  Denis Villeneuve, Director, Incendies (Scorched) Nominee, Oscar for Best Foreign Film writes……..”A real adult is someone that has – how can I say – you are a real adult when you can get free from the anger that doesn’t belong to you.   In order to do that, you have to put your ego aside and confront your own identity and – it’s a process that I think everyone is going through in a way.  If you don’t, you have a reaction that belongs to childhood all your life.”  Forests theatre  production explores the idea of postmemory phenomenon.  This is where descendants of survivors of massive traumatic events connect deeply to previous generation’s memories.  These people feel experiences that they have transmitted to those were not actually there to live.  Reliving events that happened to ancestors from previous generations.  This is a controversial idea but the Forests story definitely  experiments with it.

Love of the Tarragon Theatre

This little theatre on the outskirts of the Annex is a hidden treasure worth exploring. I was surprised to find out that for forty years Tarragon has been creating, developing and producing new plays. I could see why the best Canadian talent are drawn to this company for employment in hopes to be part of the process of telling stories. The building itself is quite the ” ramshackle affair”. It has been described as a building “charming approaching dilapidated”.    It’s a little crowded but that comes with territory of good quality theatre.   It’s true though, if you play it, they will come. Some have also mentioned a little annoyance with the crowd control in the small lobby, and with line-ups for the two theatres, and the box office sharing space.  I guess things can get confusing. But all of that is nothing to the quality of the work presented.   Again, let me reiterate: the tickets are cheap, especially considering the quality of theatre you can experience locally.  “Culture is being built, brick by brick, here, with every passing season.” Michael Healey, playwright-in-residence.

//