On Wednesday, I went to a play for school. That’s right, I didn’t choose to go—I was forced to go. Although I’ve done some work with plays in the past, I don’t really enjoy them. Not to mention this play is about politics—Canadian politics. But surprisingly, I had a good time. This play surpassed my expectations.
The 90-minute play is called Proud written by Michael Healey. The play is set after 2011, when the Conservatives win a majority of the government in the Federal election. In the beginning, the Prime Minister—played by Ross McMillan—addresses the audience as MPs. He uses Jisbella Lyth one of the ‘simple’ MPs as a distraction. Bella, as like to call her, is a little ignorant to the situation, but her love for sex kept me laughing the entire play.
I don’t know much about politics (yet), but I didn’t need to in order to enjoy the play. The play write was clever, interesting and hilarious, but it’s the characterization that won me over.
There were four actors in this play:
The Prime Minister played by Ross McMillan
Wow. He did an amazing job. Nowhere in the program does it say he's acting as Stephen Harper, but he was. His body language, hair, voice and actions screamed Stephen Harper. After the play, McMillan said he studied Stephen Harper for weeks to master his character, but he says it isn’t hard because Stephen Harper is acting when he’s in the public eye. My favourite part of the play is when he talks about how he doesn't care about anything, when the Prime Minister should be caring about everything. Kinda made me wonder who politicians really are... Who is Brian Bowman-- the real Brian Bowman?
The scandalous Jisbella Lyth played by Daria Puttaert
Jisbella is a mother, MP, and horny? I don’t think I heard the words 'condom' and 'sex' come out of someone’s mouth that many times in 90-minutes. But this character kept me laughing the whole play although, the almost-sex-scene with her and the PM was a little awkward. I did underestimate Bella's capability, but in the end she out-smarted the PM and his assistant Cary Baines.
My creative writing teacher Karen Press brought to my attention that the play write was a little sexist. Jisbella played this clueless, simple, objectified woman, who is a single mother, had two abortions and only got her job as an MP because she lucked-out. Like I said, in the end we realize that she is smart, but it’s some thing to think about.
The PM assistant Cary Baines played by Eric Blais
I think ‘PM’s assistant’ says it all. He’s the PM’s right-hand-man. There was one part in the play when Cary said he was going to quit his position. He said he would go on and be replaced by someone just like him. This made me think about the roles politicians play in real life. If you think about it, there will always be a PM, MPs, Mayors and City Councillors regardless of who. Although, it does matter who does these jobs because we want someone qualified. On a side note, he was some good eye candy too.
Jake (Jisbella’s son) played by Kevin P. Gabel
Gabel didn’t have many lines in the play, but his role was significant. Jake was portrayed in the future (25 years old). He made the play less static and clarified how powerful his mother was. I did find it awkward how he sat in a chair in the dark when the scene shifted back to the office—just a thought. He was probably the weakest character, but his role wasn’t big enough to have more character development anyway.
The play is running till Nov. 16. I would recommend seeing it if you're into plays or politics or sex or all of the above. If you want to check it out. Here’s the link:
http://www.winnipegarts.com/content/proud-michael-healey
On a side note, when I was at UWinnipeg, I took Production 1, a class all about theatre. I learned the theory and practical parts of theatre lighting and carpentry. I saw the play at the Rachel Browne Theatre and I thought they did a great job with the lighting. The set was even better. Behind the PM’s desk, there was a window designed to look like it’s facing outside. The light coming through it was natural. I loved how the colour would reflect the time of day. I wish they had more than one scene (I don’t count a chair and a screen as a scene) because I got bored with it. There was no intermission and ONE office scene can be a little boring for a long period of time. Other than that, well done!
-T
BANK ACCOUNT: $699.01
The 90-minute play is called Proud written by Michael Healey. The play is set after 2011, when the Conservatives win a majority of the government in the Federal election. In the beginning, the Prime Minister—played by Ross McMillan—addresses the audience as MPs. He uses Jisbella Lyth one of the ‘simple’ MPs as a distraction. Bella, as like to call her, is a little ignorant to the situation, but her love for sex kept me laughing the entire play.
I don’t know much about politics (yet), but I didn’t need to in order to enjoy the play. The play write was clever, interesting and hilarious, but it’s the characterization that won me over.
There were four actors in this play:
The Prime Minister played by Ross McMillan
Wow. He did an amazing job. Nowhere in the program does it say he's acting as Stephen Harper, but he was. His body language, hair, voice and actions screamed Stephen Harper. After the play, McMillan said he studied Stephen Harper for weeks to master his character, but he says it isn’t hard because Stephen Harper is acting when he’s in the public eye. My favourite part of the play is when he talks about how he doesn't care about anything, when the Prime Minister should be caring about everything. Kinda made me wonder who politicians really are... Who is Brian Bowman-- the real Brian Bowman?
The scandalous Jisbella Lyth played by Daria Puttaert
Jisbella is a mother, MP, and horny? I don’t think I heard the words 'condom' and 'sex' come out of someone’s mouth that many times in 90-minutes. But this character kept me laughing the whole play although, the almost-sex-scene with her and the PM was a little awkward. I did underestimate Bella's capability, but in the end she out-smarted the PM and his assistant Cary Baines.
My creative writing teacher Karen Press brought to my attention that the play write was a little sexist. Jisbella played this clueless, simple, objectified woman, who is a single mother, had two abortions and only got her job as an MP because she lucked-out. Like I said, in the end we realize that she is smart, but it’s some thing to think about.
The PM assistant Cary Baines played by Eric Blais
I think ‘PM’s assistant’ says it all. He’s the PM’s right-hand-man. There was one part in the play when Cary said he was going to quit his position. He said he would go on and be replaced by someone just like him. This made me think about the roles politicians play in real life. If you think about it, there will always be a PM, MPs, Mayors and City Councillors regardless of who. Although, it does matter who does these jobs because we want someone qualified. On a side note, he was some good eye candy too.
Jake (Jisbella’s son) played by Kevin P. Gabel
Gabel didn’t have many lines in the play, but his role was significant. Jake was portrayed in the future (25 years old). He made the play less static and clarified how powerful his mother was. I did find it awkward how he sat in a chair in the dark when the scene shifted back to the office—just a thought. He was probably the weakest character, but his role wasn’t big enough to have more character development anyway.
The play is running till Nov. 16. I would recommend seeing it if you're into plays or politics or sex or all of the above. If you want to check it out. Here’s the link:
http://www.winnipegarts.com/content/proud-michael-healey
On a side note, when I was at UWinnipeg, I took Production 1, a class all about theatre. I learned the theory and practical parts of theatre lighting and carpentry. I saw the play at the Rachel Browne Theatre and I thought they did a great job with the lighting. The set was even better. Behind the PM’s desk, there was a window designed to look like it’s facing outside. The light coming through it was natural. I loved how the colour would reflect the time of day. I wish they had more than one scene (I don’t count a chair and a screen as a scene) because I got bored with it. There was no intermission and ONE office scene can be a little boring for a long period of time. Other than that, well done!
-T
BANK ACCOUNT: $699.01