Hang Around DynamO Theatre, You May Want to See Their Show Thrice!

Yesterday I had the great privilege of sitting among some of Toronto’s most precocious and impressively well behaved seven and eight year olds watching DynamO Théâtre’s production of Jacqueline Gosselin’s Thrice Upon a Time in the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People Studio Theatre. DynamO is a theatre company from Montreal that uses acrobatics, clown, juggling and mask work to develop scripts for full length plays and to tell rich and dynamic stories through acrobatic movement. The result, in the case of Thrice Upon a Time, is one of the most stunning pieces of theatre for young audience’s that I have ever seen.

The set, designed by Pierre-Étienne Locas, is largely made up of a structure reminiscent to a jungle gym which is adorned with metal poles that can be added and moved in various combinations throughout the show. The play begins with The Young Lad, played by Jean-François Guilbault, climbing up atop the set and gazing down with interest at the rest of the world below. The children in the audience were immediately captivated in silent awe. Thrice Upon a Time is a story about the courage and the strength that it takes to be a child in a world where one’s values and sense of justice and fairness are always being challenged.

Although the play has a very strong and clear narrative, the story is told mostly through the physical movements and the actions and reactions of each of the performers rather than relying too much on dialogue. Gosselin’s script is strikingly minimalist and has a definite poetic feel to it, but all the nuance and depth in the characters that propel the story forward come from the performers’ bodies. The story is a simple one: the lad decides to confront his fears and take his place in the world and he quickly finds himself in the company of The Monkey, who seeks to avenge the deaths of all his ancestors who perished at the hands of The Witch. Along the way they liberate the Lonely-Girl as they discover that it will take all three of them if they hope to rid their world of evil.

This is a visually breathtaking play that vibrantly challenges the notion that the theatre is in any way limited in its storytelling options. Jacqueline Gosselin and Robert Dion have tightly choreographed the action sequences in this play with an intense mixture of acrobatics, gymnastics and dance, combined with impressive strength and commitment from the actors. This produces brutal physical fight scenes which succeed in being artistic without losing their power or their credibility. Erwann Bernard’s lighting is used particularly effectively during one action sequence where the characters are seen as shadows on a curtain performing numerous acrobatic tricks which gives the characters’ journey the magic and sense of limitless possibility of a cartoon. Most of all, however, the acrobatics in the play are used to evoke laughter. As in legendary comedy routines, such as The Marx Brothers, The Three Stooges and with Charlie Chaplin’s Tramp, nearly every movement that happens on the stage is either the set up or the punch line to a joke and this is utterly delightful for everyone. Jean-François Pednô’s brilliant percussion and wide array of sound effects also proves essential to the creation of the world of the piece and helps give the story much of his magic.

This play certainly requires incredibly dexterous and exceptionally talented performers and this production is blessed with three of them. Andréanne Joubert plays both the Witch and the Lonely Girl. She has a perfectly-pitched maniacal cackle as the former and shows off incredible acrobatics, including a stunning kick-fight while in a hand-stand with the Monkey. She is quick, mighty and fearless and at one point she dove head first horizontally through a hole on the side of the stage like a fox or a rabbit disappearing into its den. Hugues Sarra-Bournet is a monkey in every sense of the word- his knack for climbing, swinging and hanging from metal poles, along with his brilliant tumbling and penchant for flips is awe-inspiring. Sarra-Bournet and Guilbault (as the Young Lad) have an array of incredible sequences together, including one that uses poles and trampolines where the two engage in a competition to see who is the most adept acrobat. This is an effective way to showcase a huge number of these performers’ skills without detracting from the story. There is also a hilarious sequence in which Sarra-Bournet and Guilbaut tumble and dive into the three trapdoors on the stage- eventually interacting with the cutest puppet of a hedgehog- and they engage in what ends up looking like a hilarious human/hedgehog round of Whack-A-Mole. Incredible! I was especially impressed with the calibre of acting in this play. Jean-François Guilbaut is especially captivating to watch in a sequence where the Young Lad revels in the natural world around him. Guilbaut’s sense of wonder and joy is so simple and utterly contagious. His expressions are crisp, clear and in isolation from one another but always retain an effervescent sense of his emotion. He also has a sheepish smile that can delight the entire audience in two seconds.

I think that it is imperative that all children have the opportunity to attend the type of theatre that will invigorate them, inspire them, awe, fascinate, impress and delight them. I saw an entire room filled with children having this experience at Lorraine Kimsa yesterday. Please take a child you care about to Thrice Upon a Time, I’m certain they’ll leave the theatre begging to return.

DynamO Théâtre’s Thrice Upon A Time plays at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre for Young People Studio Theatre (165 Front Street East) until April 29th, 2010. For more information or to book your tickets please call 416.862.2222 or visit http://www.lktyp.ca