"George F. Walker revisits old characters in timely play about white working class"/ "Bronte: The World Without is bland and boring"

Nov. 28, 2016 "George F. Walker revisits old characters in timely play about white working class": Today I found this theatre review by J. Nelly Nestruck in the Globe and Mail:

• Title The Damage Done
• Written by George F. Walker
• Directed by Ken Gass
• Starring Wes Berger and Sarah Murphy-Dyson
• Venue Citadel
• City Toronto

If you want to understand the white working class, you could do worse than turn to George F. Walker.

Since the 1980s, the Toronto playwright has been drawing inspiration from the demographic he grew up in – you might call it the white poor, or white working poor, depending on your politics; the people now the subject of increased media scrutiny (and perhaps scapegoating) following the rise of Donald Trump.

In The Damage Done, Walker returns to a pair of characters he first created in 1992 named Bobby and Tina. These two Toronto east-enders first appeared aged 19, struggling with an unexpected pregnancy, in his much-produced young-adult play, Tough! 

In 2013, Walker unexpectedly returned to the two characters aged 21, dealing with a second pregnancy in a more problematic two-hander called Moss Park – named after the Toronto neighbourhood that became one of the poorest in the city after the deindustrialization of the 1970s.

Now, in this latest work getting its world premiere from director Ken Gass’s company Canadian Rep at a small theatre located in the real-life Moss Park, Bobby and Tina are pushing 40.

Fifteen years after finally calling it quits as a couple, they meet back at the park where the first two plays were set.

In the intervening years, Tina (Sarah Murphy-Dyson) has moved up and out of the old neighbourhood with their two children. With the help of long-term boyfriends, she put herself through school for social work – and, while the relationships didn’t work out, she now has a career and a house in the suburbs.

Meanwhile, Bobby (Wes Berger), who has only been tenuously involved in the lives of his daughters, still hasn’t settled on what to do with his life. 

He’s just learned how to operate a forklift, but is faking an ankle injury to get workers’ compensation – and, as Tina puts it, still dreams of the things he could be doing, instead of what he should be doing. (Toying with writing a play, the loveable lunkhead seems more of a stand-in for Walker than ever.)

Critic Jerry Wasserman has summarized the thrust of Walker’s major East End plays of the 1980s and early 1990s as being about “the attempt, mostly by women, to re-educate the corrupted and generally bewildered men responsible for the intolerable status quo.”

Tina, who always tries to project the image that she’s tough and together, starts off thinking she’s in one of those plays. 

As Bobby puts it, “I screw up; you still think it’s your job to straighten me out.” This time around, however, it’s really Tina who needs straightening out. She has to go away and wants Bobby to move into her house and take care of their teenagers .

The depths of her despair are only gradually revealed – though the Neil Young song the title comes from is a clue. Can Bobby finally be there for her?

All three Bobby and Tina plays are unusual in Walker’s sprawling canon in that they follow the classical unities – that’s to say, they tell a single story in a single place in real time.

This actually leads them to be less naturalistic than some of Walker’s other family plays, full of contrivance and exposition masked as argument. 

Both Berger and Murphy-Dyson do a fine enough job of finding their footing in this compressed atmosphere – but Walker’s repetitive structure of rehashed past, then revelation, makes it difficult for an audience to stay with them in the moment.

Walker’s play asks whether, to revisit the title of one of his earlier plays, better living is really possible when you grow up the way Bobby and Tina did – even if you get out of poverty and move to a nice suburb, can the mind ever find security?

In Gass’s production, which he designed himself, the stage is covered in dead leaves – and Joey Condello’s lighting design gives the impression of clouds passing. 

Maybe a production that more aggressively explored the artificiality of the writing, rather than trying to make it seem like a walk in the park, might be more satisfying. 

Because it’s clear this east-end space in which Bobby and Tina have been meeting for 20 years is a mental one as much as a physical one – and where 

Bobby has learned to exist comfortably within it, 

Tina still feels uneasy over leaving it.

A premiere of a Walker play is less of an event than it once was: At age 69, he’s more prolific than ever, averaging two plays a year since 2010. 

At this point, I’d be more interested in younger directors revisiting his older, larger-scale East End plays such as ove and Anger (1989) and Escape from Happiness (1991) to see what his white, working-class characters might have to say now to a world in the throes of Trumpism and a city in the wake of Fordism.

George F. Walker revisits old characters in timely play on white working poor

My opinion:

This is a life tip:

He’s just learned how to operate a forklift, but is faking an ankle injury to get workers’ compensation – and, as Tina puts it, still dreams of the things he could be doing, instead of what he should be doing. 

This is a writing tip:

This actually leads them to be less naturalistic than some of Walker’s other family plays, full of contrivance and exposition masked as argument. 

Jun. 23, 2018 "Bronte: The World Without is bland and boring": Today I found this theatre play review by J. Kelly Nestruck in the Globe and Mail:


Title: Brontë: The World Without 

• Written by: Jordi Mand
• Director: Vanessa Porteous
• Actors: Beryl Bain, Jessica B. Hill, Andrea Rankin
• Company: The Stratford Festival
• Venue: Studio Theatre
• City: Stratford, Ont.
• Year: Runs to Oct. 13, 2018

1 star out of 4

Charlotte. Emily. And Anne. The Brontë Sisters.

You can almost sing it to the tune of The Schuyler Sisters from Hamilton: An American Musical.

And with a young female playwright holding the pen and a diverse cast, the Stratford Festival’s new play, Brontë: The World Without, promised just such a similarly fresh, contemporary take on the 19th-century English writers who brought us the novels Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, respectively.

Unfortunately, what’s actually made it to the Stratford stage is a dull non-drama that smells of a commissioning process gone completely awry.

Brontë: The World Without does indeed show us a world without – without conflict, without characterization, without substance or style.

Without a clear reason for existing on stage, beyond the brand appeal of the Brontës.

Playwright Jordi Mand gives us scenes as flat as roadkill from the lives of Charlotte, Emily and Anne, all set in the parlour of their father’s parsonage.

The first is all economic exposition as Charlotte (Beryl Bain), Emily (Jessica B. Hill) and Anne (Andrea Rankin) sit around drinking weak tea and talking about how little money they have and how they might make ends meet.

As each possibility is crossed off the list – selling this or that possession, opening a school, tapping into a small inheritance – it’s a long wait for them to turn to the idea that they might try to publish the poetry that they’ve been writing in private.

It’s such a long wait, in fact, that it takes until the second scene for Charlotte to finally have her unbelievable light-bulb moment. 

The rest of the space before intermission is taken up by Charlotte and Anne trying to convince the fragile and frightened Emily to send her poetry off to a publisher under a male pseudonym along with them.

The one thing everyone who walks into Brontë: The World Without should know is that Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontë were writers. 

It seems perverse to try to make the entire first half of a play ride on suspense over whether or not they will even try.

Overheard at intermission: “I hope somebody stabs someone with a quill in the second half.”

No such luck. But there is the potential for drama between these underwritten writers when a thin brown-paper package returns from a publisher. Clearly, two of the Brontës have had their first novels accepted and one has not.

Having made the mistake of reading the program notes before the play began, 

this was another tedious scene of non-suspense waiting for the package to be opened – but I remained curious to see how the sisters would handle this moment of division.

Alas, the discovery of who was rejected is where Mand ends her scene. 

And the next one picks up after such a long enough passage of time that the whole issue is rendered moot.

Director Vanessa Porteous, as if realizing that the play she’s been hired to direct is missing, stages long scene changes set to songs. Entire songs by Regina Spektor, Willow Smith and Meshell Ndegeocello.

These little music videos fill out the lives of the characters in a more lively way than the play itself. They wake you up, anyway – as Charlotte, Emily and Anne walk in and out of doors on fast-forward, shoot each other looks and furiously scribble with quills.

But then they’re back to quarrelling and quibbling, speaking flavourless dialogue that feels neither period nor contemporary.

Biographical tidbits are occasionally revealed, but there are no peeks inside of these iconic authors’ minds or imaginations, except into Anne’s in the very final moments of the play.

Not a poem is read. Not a novel discussed.

Love affairs,

 an alcoholic and opioid-addicted brother, 

a trip to London by Charlotte and Anne where they reveal to their publishers that they are women 

– all these potentially dramatizable elements are kept off the stage.

A character’s death is signalled entirely by coughing into a napkin and then showing that there is blood on it. This is a play premiering in 2018?

The cast is talented – with Hill, in particular, bringing an on-the-edge element to the character of Emily.

And Mand proved herself a talented writer with a show called Between the Sheets, developed and premiered by the independent company Nightwood in Toronto back in 2012.

The largest not-for-profit theatre company in the country, with all its resources, seems to have transformed her into a bland one. Stratford has let her down and, in turn, audiences by letting this pointless period piece make it all the way to production.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/theatre-and-performance/reviews/article-review-bronte-the-world-without-is-a-bland-and-boring-period-drama/

Sept. 15, 2023 My opinion: If you want to make a story more interesting, you have to have drama, conflict, and tension.

I don't write plays or watch plays.

I watch TV and movies.  I have done screenwriting for years.

Here are the other 2 blog posts of the week:

"In a year of anti-Muslim vitriol, major brand advertisers promote inclusion"/ "Mining association launches regulations to diversify mostly 'male and white' industry"

http://badcb.blogspot.com/2023/09/in-year-of-anti-muslim-vitriol-major.html

"Three ways to figure out whether a company is really invested in change"/ "‘Woke’ ESG regulations leading to policy chaos with worst yet to come"

http://badcb.blogspot.com/2023/09/three-ways-to-figure-out-whether.html

Tues. Sept. 26, 2023 "Developer credits GST rebate for 5,000 rental unit plan": Today I found this article by Ben Cousins on BNN Bloomberg.  This is some good news:

A Toronto developer is crediting the federal government’s plan to remove GST from new rental buildings for its plan to bring 5,000 new housing units across the country.

Dream Unlimited Corp. announced plans to bring housing projects to urban centres in Ottawa, Saskatoon, Calgary and Toronto totalling more than 5,000 units.

Earlier this month, Ottawa announced it would remove the GST from new rental builds as part of its plan to boost the housing supply in Canada and address housing prices. Developers have largely applauded the move, as it represents about a 10 per cent savings on new projects.

“This legislation is a game changer for the development industry, and more importantly for Canadians,” Michael J. Cooper, president and chief responsible officer of Dream Unlimited, wrote in a news release Monday.  “The housing crisis has impacted every urban centre from coast to coast. What this legislation unlocks is our ability to get shovels into the ground quickly at a time when it’s never been more critical to build new homes.”

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/developer-credits-gst-rebate-for-5-000-rental-unit-plan-1.1976111

Tues. Sept. 26, 2023"Black 13-year-old who was treated like 'potential thief' by Vancouver boss awarded $27K by tribunal": Today I found this article on Yahoo and CBC.  

A 13-year-old Black girl who was wrongly singled out on suspicion of theft by her manager at a Vancouver juice bar has been awarded more than $27,000 in damages for discrimination.

The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal has found that because of her race and sex, the young worker was subjected to a "poisoned" work environment at Heirloom, a restaurant and juice bar in the upscale South Granville neighbourhood.

The teen's identity has been protected by the tribunal, and she is referred to as AB in a decision handed down on Friday. It says bias drove manager Nicholas Stone's decision to confront the teen — and none of her co-workers — about shortages in the cash register.

The encounter left her in tears.

"AB was singled out as a potential thief, despite there being no evidence to that effect," tribunal member Amber Prince wrote.

"In the absence of an explanation, Mr. Stone's heightened suspicion, scrutiny, and monitoring of AB is consistent with persistent and harmful stereotypes that Black people are prone to theft and that Black children are more adult and less innocent than other children."

After the original confrontation, and despite the restaurant owner's evidence that cash shortages are common and usually the result of innocent mistakes, AB was relegated to working in the back of the store, the decision says. When she quit her job, Stone declined to write her a reference letter.

Prince said it was likely discrimination was also behind those decisions.

"In arriving at these findings, I am not concluding that Mr. Stone intended to discriminate against AB," the decision says.

"None of us are immune from operating on unconscious stereotypes, given that such stereotypes continue to seep into our collective psyche."

https://ca.yahoo.com/news/black-13-old-treated-potential-220742597.html

My opinion: I felt like justice was served for the the 13 yr old.  Did they have cameras on the till?  I have worked at the Soup Place #2 and Juice Place #1 where there are cameras on the till.

Wed. Sept. 27, 2023 "Target closing 9 stores in U.S. due to growing theft problem": Today I found this article on the CBC:

Target said Tuesday that it will close nine stores in four states, including one in New York City's East Harlem neighbourhood, and three in the San Francisco Bay Area, saying that theft and organized retail crime have threatened the safety of its workers and customers.

The closures, which will be effective Oct. 21, also include three stores in Portland, Ore., and two in Seattle. Target said that it still will have a combined 150 stores open in the markets where the closures are taking place. It said it will offer affected workers the opportunity to transfer to other stores.

The Minneapolis retailer said the decision to close the stores was difficult.

"We know that our stores serve an important role in their communities, but we can only be successful if the working and shopping environment is safe for all," Target said in a statement.

Target said it has invested heavily in strategies to prevent theft, such as adding more security workers, using third-party guard services, installing theft-deterrent tools and locking up merchandise. It also has trained store managers and security-team members to protect themselves and de-escalate potential safety issues.

But it noted that it still faced "fundamental challenges" to operate the stores safely — and the business performance at the locations slated for closure was unsustainable.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/target-stores-theft-1.6979493

My opinion: They put time, effort, money and resources into solving the problem, but were unable to.  At least the workers can transfer to other stores.

If this happens in the US, it can happen in Canada.

Mon. Sept. 25, 2023 Downtown: I went to downtown for an appointment.

I then took the bus to City Centre.  I bumped into my friend Denny from the Personality Meetup group on the bus.

I went to get a free medium coffee in my thermos at McDonald's.  I redeemed the coffee card of where you buy 7 coffees and get 1 free.  My dad is the one who buys the coffees, and I put the stickers on the card.

Foreign currency exchange : I went to TD and I had a prescription bottle of coins from other countries I found in my home.  The woman said they don't take coins.  I gave her a 20 pesos bill and she said the bill has to be at least a $50 bill.

She told me to go the TD in West Edmonton mall:

"TD Bank offers services for all your banking needs, including foreign currency exchange. With our longer hours and over 50 currencies available, we are ready to help you with all your foreign currency needs whether you are visiting Canada or planning your next trip."

https://www.wem.ca/directory/stores/td-bank-foreign-exchange-centre

Wed. Sept. 27, 2023 Fix my flip phone: 2 days ago, my flip phone stopped working with the screen not showing up, or showing some, or being flipped upside down.  I turned it off for awhile and then turned it back on and it's the same.  I had this phone since 2018.

I went to Rogers at City Centre and they said they can't fix it.  I went to the 3 cell phone repair stores there, and they don't fix flip phones.  You have to buy these parts for it and it's expensive.  You might as well buy a new flip phone.

I went to Rogers, and I waited by reading for 5 min.  They sell flip phones for $111.  I then thought: "Why don't I call all these other cell phone repair stores and maybe they can fix it?"

I went home and called 13 places from West Edmonton mall, Kingsway, and Southgate mall and they all said the same thing.  It was like 20 min. on the phone.  Well it wasn't a lot of physical effort on my part.

I know my mom has an old flip phone that I can use.

Mon. Sept. 25, 2023 The Irrational:

"Alec Mercer is a world-renowned behavioral scientist who lends his expertise to an array of high-stakes cases involving governments, law enforcement and corporations with his unique and unexpected approach to understanding human behavior."

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16288838/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_7_nm_1_q_the%2520irr

My opinion: I saw the pilot.  This was average.  I will record the series and probably will watch all the eps in a couple of weeks.

Sept. 28, 2023 Robyn Hood: 

"Follows Robyn Loxley and anti-authoritarian masked hip-hop band, The Hood, as they call out injustices and fight for freedom and equality in the city of New Nottingham."

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt20918756/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3_tt_1_nm_7_q_robyn

My opinion: The pilot was mediocre and then I never watched it again.  This seems like something for the CW and their superhero shows.