Beyond therapy, beyond good
Play impresses reporter with use of profanity
TIMOTHY BROWN STAFF
Beyond Therapy has just finished its run at The Black Hole Theatre Co. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, that’s unfortunate. Those who did will most likely agree with me when I say it was a fun time at the theatre.
Beyond Therapy was written by Christopher Durang and centres on Bruce and Prudence, played by Jeremy Rampton and Stephanie Moroz, respectively. Both are searching for something new in their lives. They meet through a personal ad and hilarity ensues as they get to know each other. Bruce is bisexual with a lover named Bob (played by Ryan Miller), who is an insecure mother’s boy. Bruce also has a therapist, Charlotte (played by Erin Essery) who is not only eccentric, but completely forgetful as well. Prudence is an insecure yuppy with a macho, verbally abusive therapist, Stuart (played by Ken Rudderham), with whom she has just ended a relationship, yet still sees for therapy.
The acting in the play was excellent. I was especially impressed with Ken Rudderham who was able to play Stuart the macho jerk with ease. He impressed not only with his dialogue delivery but with his physical actions as well. His character was also responsible for some of the most humourous dialogue. Jeremy Rampton, playing Bruce, was wonderfully over-the-top. He was caring and overly sensitive, allowing the audience to sympathize as well as laugh at him.
Stephanie Moroz playing Prudence may have been the weakest part of the cast: there were just certain spots where I felt she was holding back. This stood out when contrasted with the rest of the cast who seemed so over-the-top. It may very well be, however, that the fault lies with the nature of her character rather than Moroz’s acting abilities, as Prudence is a character who doesn’t know what she wants, and is always second-guessing herself and the decisions she makes. Both Ryan Miller and Erin Essery were brilliant. Miller was definitely the most comical, outlandish part of the cast. His facial expressions alone were priceless. Essery, playing a sweet, loveable, eccentric therapist was probably the most shocking character. At one point she even started yelling “cocksucker” as loud as she possibly could.
There were also two other minor characters, the two waiters. The first waiter, who was simply titled Waiter (played by David Fox) didn’t actually serve as a character in the play, but as an extra hand in changing the sets in between scenes, as well as mingling with the audience before the play. The other waiter, Andrew (played by Kevin Chipman) who also took part in mingling with the audience, helped bring the play to a climax with a few wonderfully entertaining lines.
What I found to be very interesting is that when both waiters were moving around props on the stage for the next scene, they were still in character as these waiters who seemed to despise each other. As the play evolved so did their relationship: by the end of the play, they started to enjoy each other’s company. This not only helped the play flow during the change of sets, but also added an additional layer of character dynamism. Whether this was conceived by Christopher Durang or was a more recent invention, it was a great idea and one of the highlights of the play.
I personally don’t have much experience when it comes to reviewing theatre, but I would have to say that this play was very well executed thanks to director Alexis Martin. It was thoughtful, funny, well-acted, and above all, thoroughly entertaining.
