There is a very strong production of Morris Panych’s play Girl in the Goldfish Bowl playing at the Pond Playhouse until March 30th, 2019. I was very glad to have had the show on my radar during a particularly busy few weeks for theatre in Halifax, and so I hope that you will also get the chance to see this little gem of a play, which is very beautifully done at Theatre Arts Guild, our city’s oldest Community Theatre.
Panych’s play centres on Iris, an extremely precocious ten year old girl, who is reflecting on the last few days of her childhood in October, 1962. Iris is confronted with the traumatic death of her pet fish (Amall) and the crumbling of her parents’ marriage, with the threat of Nuclear War and the Cuban Missile Crisis looming over everyone. Iris connects with a mysterious stranger, Mr. Lawrence, and invites him into her home. Everyone in the household, including their boarder Miss Rose, has their own distinct idiosyncrasies, but even amongst them Mr. Lawrence stands out as being quite odd, and Iris is desperate to find a profound meaning for both his entrance and his departure from their lives. Does she invent this meaning herself? Most people would likely say yes; but how does this differ from the meaning that we ascribe to anything else, whether in religion, history, literature or otherwise? The play is both hilariously funny, Paynch’s writing is full of sharp wit and delightful ridiculousness, but also quite poignant, especially at the end when we see Iris’ happiest and saddest moments unfolding within hours of one another.
Alex McAllister plays Mr. Lawrence, who was found by Iris washed up on a beach, as someone genuinely trying to piece together who they are, and who is also trying to behave in a way that doesn’t arouse suspicion in others, and failing quite badly at the latter. McAllister does a great job of playing with all the silliness that inspires Iris’ imagination, but also grounding him in his own humanity. Terry Coolen plays Iris’ dad, Owen, a man who returned from his service in World War II unable to work. Coolen does a great job at showing Owen’s restlessness, his feelings of inferiority, and also his desperation in wanting to keep his family together at any cost. He is nicely countered by Angela Butler’s Sylvia, Iris’ mom, whose character is equal parts frustratingly selfish, but also courageous and empowered. Jennifer Robbins is Miss Rose, a woman who spends her days working a fish cannery and her evenings trying to recreate her glory days of wartime youth at the local legion. Robbins’ wry looks and sense of spectacular cynicism are perfectly suited to the role. Christine Gerogiannis’ Iris is indeed the heart of the play. Gerogiannis brings our protagonist to life with beautiful impishness, intellect, exuberance, and dramatic flourish. We clearly see her as ten years old and inhabiting all that is wonderful and tragic about the transition between childhood and adolescence. It’s a virtuoso performance as dynamic and nuanced as one would find in the professional theatre.
The play is helmed by director Tamara Smith, who makes great use of Brenda Tyedmers’ set, showing how this family functions within a small house, despite the walls that they have built up between them. I especially loved the playful way Iris inhabits the space, squeezing into corners, and lying upside-down on the furniture, as children do. The set immediately roots the play in a small, beachy, 1960s home, and also captures the play’s fishy theme in a fun way.
Girl in the Goldfish Bowl is full of hearty laughter, shrewd insights into the ways we resist change and seek meaning, and a lot of heart. This is a very high caliber production from The Theatre Arts Guild, I hope to see more from these artists in the future!
Girl in the Goldfish Bowl plays Thursdays to Saturdays at the Pond Playhouse (6 Parkhill Road, Halifax) at 8:00pm with 2:00pm matinees on Saturday and one 2:00pm matinee on Sunday March 24th, 2019. For tickets please visit this website.
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