THE BALD SOPRANO

REVIEW OF THÉÂTRE FRANÇAIS PRODUCTION OF LA CANTATRICE CHAUVE

Théâtre français de Toronto stands at the helm of francophone theatre in Toronto and it is fitting that they produce a play that stands at the forefront of absurdist drama, Eugene Ionesco’s La Cantatrice Chauve (The Bald Soprano). They give it a fine-tuned, beautifully acted and superbly directed production that takes you into the theatre of the absurd with all its absorbing features, humour, non-linear plot and, well, absurdity.

We have Mr. and Mrs. Smith, an English couple in an English suburb discussingtheir supper and other inconsequential and nonsensical subjects in their Englishhome. Director Chanda Gibson has Manuel Verreydt as Mr. Smith and GenevieveLanglois as Mrs. Smith walk on stage in a stilted, unnatural almost roboticmanner. They speak almost mechanically without sounding robotic but at alltimes we will be aware that we are not in a normal world as we perceive it.

The same applies to their visitors Mr. and Mrs. Martin played by PierreSimpson and Sophie Goulet respectively. They arrive together and we assume thatthey are a couple but they proceed to converse as if they are completestrangers. The conversation continues until they discover that they live in thesame room, sleep in the same bed and have a little girl. The encounter isfunny, ridiculous and, again, from another world.

Mary the maid (Christina Tannous) strikes a gong a few times during the performance(the text calls for a clock) and is the audience’s informant. She gives us “thefacts” about Mr. and Mrs. Martin. The Smiths join the Martins and the nonsensecontinues as they relate extraordinary occurrences like seeing a man tying hisshoelaces and somehow reading a newspaper.

The nonsense continues with the arrival of the Fire Chief (SébastienBertrand) who may or may not have rung the doorbell and may or may not havebeen at the door for three quarters of an hour and…..well, do not look forsense in the dialogue.

The set designed by Alexandra Lord features a room with a fireplace anda few chairs. There are two doors on each side of the playing area and thewhole thing works very well.

Theatre of the absurd is by definition something that is neither linearnor rational but in its nonsense it can be funny and to some extent incomprehensible.But its incomprehensibility is precisely the point of the play and you get to understandthat it is the whole point of the play.

The strength of this production is Chanda Gibson’s ability to balancethe nonsensical and the ridiculous with the comical and the serious. We may notfollow all that is happening on the stage but we know we are not supposed toand that we understand what Ionesco and this superb production intend to do.

The play is produced in the original French with English surtitlesmaking it available for a wider audience.

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The Bald Soprano (La CantatriceChauve) by Eugene Ionescoopened on October 23 and will run until November 3, 2019 at the Berkeley StreetTheatre Upstairs, 26 Berkeley Street, Toronto, Ontario.www.theatrefrancais.com