halifax harbour
I have come to the hesitant conclusion that theatre audiences don’t like to be surprised. I must admit, although sheepishly, that I can’t admonish too harshly the fondness of theatregoers for security and comfort in the theatre. I have experienced awful feelings at the theatre, which can often be appreciated and are by times even welcome as part of a therapeutic and cathartic experience. And yet, sometimes you don’t feel like being terrified, sometimes you don’t want to interact with the actors or to be tricked into thinking a particular situation is really happening and I have, at times I must say, sat festering and glowering with irritation because I was in the entirely wrong state of mind for the experience that I had been thrust into: and that’s no fun at all. However, far more often, the theatre that I have found uncomfortable, unsettling, disquieting, provocative, and volatile has been the best theatre that I have ever seen and plays that have had the power to open up my mind and touch my soul. Sometimes the performances have been so different from anything else I had ever seen that the performers were able to introduce me to a whole new realm of storytelling and remind me of the indefinite amount of sweet possibility that always lie on that perfect, brilliant, awing blank canvas.
If Marty Chan’s play The Bone House, which played at Eastern Front Theatre’s SuperNova Festival earlier this month, revealed anything to me about the nature of performance, it was how vulnerable audience members are in the relinquishing of their trust to the performers and the theatrical establishment where they sit. We are all creatures of habit; and I am not one to judge that, I always feel more comfortable in a theatre I know and, sometimes even, in a particular seat that I have claimed as my own. Yet, at times our lack of spirit for adventure and our hesitance and fear to venture beyond what has become routine and comfortable for us can be gravely detrimental to the theatre in our cities. I find this to particularly acute in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The difficulty, I think, is that since it was founded in 1963, Neptune Theatre has been the only large-scale theatre in the city to reach longevity, which means that generations of theatregoers have become accustomed to it being their only secure option for professional theatre in Halifax. Thus, even now as Halifax has seen over a decade of smaller, independent theatres and theatre companies begin to spring to life, tradition and convention have kept many Haligonians from searching beyond that familiar spot on Argyle Street for a theatrical treat. Neptune still produces satisfactory fare, as most Regional Theatres in this country do, mixing the conventional with the exceptional and walking the familiar line between offering patrons works that are both contemporary and critically acclaimed while still appealing to an often conservative subscription-based audience. I do not wish to deter Haligonians from making Neptune Theatre part of their theatrical routine, but I do think that it is important for an initiative to be in place in Halifax that introduces those beyond Halifax’s immediate theatre community to the other theatres and companies that produce shows of great innovation and artistic merit that they may not venture out to experience without some guidance or persuasion.
I returned to Halifax at the beginning of May to find its theatre scene thriving. Not only was Eastern Front Theatre’s SuperNova Festival offering six incredibly interesting and dynamic pieces, but Cloud Burst was playing a nearly sold-out run at the Plutonium Playhouse, LunaSea Theatre’s newest show Woman and Scarecrow opened to enthusiastic buzz, DaPoPo Theatre had two Cafes in one week and, of course, Peter Pan was playing at Neptune’s Fountain Hall. This is a wonderfully promising sight to behold for all of the ardently talented performers in this city to be invigorated and inspired to create their own work and forge their own opportunities, despite the hardships the city may present. The community here is strong, resourceful and committed to making Halifax a place where art is nurtured and cherished.
Eastern Front Theatre is quickly emerging as the place in Halifax for people to see world-class productions of innovative and prominent productions, not only from some of Halifax’s most exciting theatre artists, but also from brilliant theatre companies from across the country. The mandate of the new Plutonium Playhouse on Hunter Street is to provide Halifax playwrights, directors and collaborators with a home to produce inaugural productions of new Haligonian works. Eastern Front Theatre is now poised to work in tandem with all the independent theatre companies who create new work in this city, especially the Plutonium Playhouse, for the Playhouse will provide the support needed for the creation of a new play, while Eastern Front has the resources to give this play its necessary life beyond its inaugural production. Eastern Front Theatre is also forging artistic relationships with theatre artists and companies across the country, which not only brings actors, directors and playwrights from elsewhere to Halifax, but also has the potential to help export Haligonian theatre outward as with Mulgrave Road’s production of Lauchie, Liza &Rory which was produced by Eastern Front Theatre this Spring and is headed for a production at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa next April.
It is imperative that the patrons of Halifax’s smaller theatre companies, especially those that develop plays by Haligonian playwrights, branch out beyond the immediate theatre community and its friends and family. How do we appeal to “mainstream” citizens of our city and appeal to them to diverge from their routine and to try something new? Can we teach a province filled with old dogs new tricks? It is important to begin, I think, with the youngest members of our community, for they are the ones whose habits and routines are still in rapid flux. Can the independent theatres bring schoolchildren of appropriate age into their theatre, as Neptune does? Can these theatres and theatre companies seek to offer special opportunities for young aspiring thespians such as workshops or volunteering or something entirely unique that will create a community bond around the smaller theatres based on feelings of security and belonging? How else can these smaller theatres reach out to Halifax’s mainstream theatregoers and inspire them to come inside to see an independent production? It is a difficult question, but one that I think we must consider with critical importance.
At the same time, I think it is also important for Haligonian theatre artists to do their utmost best to support the work of visiting artists whose shows are being produced by a local company such as Eastern Front, and I think it is equally as important for the visiting artists to do their utmost to see any local productions that they are able to attend and for there to be as much interaction between theatre artists from different cities as possible. I think it is evitable that, if given the opportunity, thespians will learn from other and inspire one another and forging bridges between the theatre communities across Canada and around the world provides exciting theatrical prospects for everyone and the chance for collaboration and co-productions. At the moment in Halifax, word of mouth still seems to be the best source of advertisement for independent theatre, and the Halifax theatre community remains the source of much of that promotion. I think we are sometimes fraught with the same urge to keep to our familiar path and the friendly faces we know, but once we overcome our initial hesitation, our Nova Scotian kindness, our eagerness to help, our earnest care and regard for anyone and everyone who finds himself or herself washed up on our shore makes us the very best hosts, ideal audience members and incredible friends to any lonesome clown who happens to come to town.
Something wonderful is blowing in the salty breeze of Halifax this spring; a vigorous, ambitious spirit that seems more hopeful than usual, beautifully optimistic, yet still characteristically cautious. The ground is ripe for fresh new ideas and as the theatre artists of Halifax march bravely toward a triumphant tomorrow, so too must it be a priority to inspire the rest of the city’s population to be brave as well, to unshackle them from the assumption that Neptune Theatre is the only theatrical choice and to persuade them, not to abandon that which is already comfortable and familiar, but to take a chance on a new tradition which, I think, will prove even more rewarding.
