On Thursday, I caught Significant Other, the newest offering from Theatre Inconnu. I appreciate that Theatre Inconnu often punches above it’s weight – as a company, they try new things and swing for the fences with their productions. Overall, this is a gem of a show – a team of committed actors did a lot with a script that, while a times felt just a little dated, did something fresh and took a real, committed approach to their characters. At just over two hours and a bit hour runtime, time truly flies by and it’s fun throughout – lots of good laughs, and surprisingly touching too.
You can’t talk about the success of this show without commending the cast, they dove right into their roles, embodying their characters and demonstrated incredibly precise mime work throughout. They are tuned in, and in-character for every scene, and commendably, every scene change too, making it look easy and fluid every time.
The character of Jordan Berman played expertly by Nolan Fidyk. Jordan is… well Jordan is obsessive, a little narcissistic, a little too eager to find love, a little bitter. Despite this, Fidyk’s performance is warm and openhearted in a way that makes you care deeply for Jordan, no matter what flaws he has. This is an incredibly difficult line to walk because you can see Jordan making mistake after mistake to sabotage his love life, and he has every chance to avoid it and yet, it’s so incredibly human that you want him to find the love for which he is so deeply yearning.
The three close friends were deftly played by Andrea Eggenberger, Makayla Madill, and Mariah Madill, and each carved out as much personality and depth as the script would allow. I have always felt that comedy can be a tough genre to get right, and in a show with a fair number of one liners, it had the potential to get one note or a bit messy. It is clear that all three had spot on comedic timing, giving time and dragging it out in just the right places, and jumping up with snappy energy when that felt right. Laura, played by Mariah Madill had more moments of depth, and showcased just that beautiful heartbreak of a changing relationship with a dear friend. As a viewer, I struggled somewhat with our triad of girl friends (but not girlfriends). The script wobbles perilously close to making our three lead female friends into sassy girl caricatures, and there are moments where we lose them entirely in their wedding plans, which felt a bit dated as a concept (the script only premiered in 2015, which I was surprised to discover).
This show had a great sense of flow and movement, beautifully choreographed as we move from scene to scene. The physical size of the space unfortunately worked against the actors in a few instances, forcing them to stop short of the curtain, which broke the action and took me out of the moment.
Much of the story was told using projections, which I recall have been used extremely effectively in past Inconnu productions. This time, I felt that the visual style wasn’t as consistent as it has been in past shows, and in some cases wasn’t needed – as I mentioned previously, the mime work was excellent throughout! The projections worked beautifully in the instances when they were showing the cityscapes and gave texture and depth to the black box space.
It’s almost a cliche to talk about that specific time of our lives when every year is filled with bridal showers, bachelorettes, and at least wedding or two. Now that I’m mostly past that season of life, I have such nostalgia for that fun time. I think that’s what this show does so beautifully – it witnesses that awkward time, where you’re watching your friends pair off and you’re worried you’re going to be the last one left unmarried. It’s riddled with self-consciousness and the desire to be seen and loved by more than just our friends. It’s a beautiful, funny, awkward time capsule of that moment in time. It’s a time of broken hearts and so much love for our friends. It’s a time where we are unmoored and trying to find ourselves. There’s so much fun and love and joy, and sometimes, sometimes, it sucks. As Grandma Helene says “you just have to get through it”.
One more note on the acting – Grandma Helene is played by Julie Gray, and she gives such honestly and compassion to an incredibly challenging role. This role has the potential to be an object of pity or an uncomfortable laugh, but Gray’s performance is nuanced, sweet, and balances the right amount of hesitancy. Helene’s story is heartbreaking and yet Grey gives her such tenacity and gentleness, she has found such lovely depth to the character. In a play filled with young people falling in love, Helene is a really beautiful spot of wisdom, coupled with vulnerability and fear.
There is so much love and laughter to be found in this show – bravo to everyone involved for bringing it to life!
Disclaimer: I received free tickets to the show as a result of other volunteer work I do. No review was expected or requested.