**Sorry to all of you wanting to read about the adventures a CreCommer and his two black beauties, Pancakes and Meisha, this week's blog post will not be about them.**
This past week the CreCommers were sent to Rachel Browne Theatre on the coldest night of the year (yet) to watch Michael Healey's play
Proud.
Proud is a funny, sexually charged, politically incorrect and at times an awkward play. It first premiered at Toronto's 26 Berkeley Street Upstairs space in September 2012, and is making its home in Winnipeg from November 6-16.
The play, which takes place after the 2011 election when the Conservative party won a majority government, but instead of the NDP
Orange Wave winning 56 seats in Québec, those seats were won by the Conservatives. It depicts Prime Minister Stephen Harper as an unmarried, quick tempered, sexually awkward, economic theory loving, (true), calculating politician who's only goal while in power is to build a Canada that allows its citizens to become 'self-reliant'.
The set (Prime Ministers Office)
The play begins with Harper (Ross McMillan) addressing the crowd (or his new MPs) telling them what he expects of them and how to conduct their business. McMillan's mannerisms and speech patterns are very close to that of the real PM.
In the next scene, Harper is joined on stage by chief of staff, Cary Baines, played by Eric Blais. Baines and Harper are deciding where to seat new Mps in the House of Commons and with every suggestion Baines gives Harper, each is rejected, citing past transgressions/disobedience as a reason why not to have them sit opposite of Harper in the House.
In walks a busty, scantily clad woman who turns out to be the new MP from Cormier-lac Poule, Québec, Jisbella Lyth, played by Daria Puttaert. Lyth needs a condom and as she says, "...you told us to come to you if we needed ANYTHING. So here I am, in need of a condom, do you have one?"
After Harper reams her out for acting inappropriately he tells Baines to get resignation papers for Lyth as she is going to resign from her position. But the quick-thinking Lyth creates a backstory that would do greater damage to the party than her sleeping with a reporter, Evan Solomon. Harper buys it, so Lyth stays.
The calculating Harper hatches a plan to "distract the media" as he is trying to cut down the size of the Privy Council Office by instructing Lyth to table a private member's bill in the House during a session regarding abortion. Lyth originally rejects as it comes out, she's had two in the past, but later agrees as she wants her image to improve back in her riding.
From there the play unfolds as Lyth's bill gains momentum and will soon be tabled and brought to a vote, something that catches Harper and Baines off guard. Baines and Lyth begin an "office" romance which is relevant to the recent incidents by the
Liberal Party . Baines later tells Harper that he should sleep with Lyth to persuade her to take her proposed bill off the docket.
The scene where Harper and Lyth sit in a room sipping (or chugging in Lyths case) scotch feels as cheap and unsavoury as the Ballantine's they are drinking. Eventually the sexually awkward Harper 'agrees' to have sex with Lyth but doesn't have any condoms, cue Baines entering the room with a strip of Trojan condoms.
Off to the side to main stage stood Jake, played by Kevin P. Gabel has a few scenes with a reporter, Evan Solomon, in the year 2029. The Conservatives and Stephen Harper are still in power, but there have been substantial cuts to CBC and Jake goes to an empty building with no producers to conduct his interview. These scenes did not add to the value of the play, only hindered it as it took away from the action of the main characters.
There is no real force driving the play forward and relies on sexual innuendoes to keep the audiences attention. It felt as if the play ended in a hurry without any real resolution or closure, so that was disappointing. For what it was worth, it was entertaining and enjoyable. McMillan and Puttaert brought forth strong performances individually, but together, something was missing. Blais's portrayal of Baines was good, but felt like that character could be played by most anybody as his character had no growth throughout the play.
Following the play there was a rushed Q & A with the actors and the director, Ardith Boxall. There were the normal "How did this play affect how you view politics? Was it hard to find this character's personality? " questions, but there was one question by a guest questioning the directors views of how the media behaves regarding "distractions" put forth by the government which the audience could see hit a nerve with the director. Following the guests question, the Q & A quickly ended and the actors hurried out of the studio.
Proud delivered a play that was on par to other plays you would see at
Winnipeg Fringe Fest and is worth seeing if you are a left-leaning political supporter who wants to see a farce involving the prime minister.
-PR research project
