Pray This

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – Pray This

Playwright – Created by Denise Clarke

Production Company/Theatre space – One Yellow Rabbit / Secret Theatre, Werklund Centre.

Length – 1 Act (65 minutes, no intermission)

Genre/s – Dance/Post Modern Drama

Premise – Denise shares how she came to create this after talking with a Montreal producer; feeling overwhelmed by the current state of affairs she first tries prayer, followed by meditation but ultimately, she connects with her mother and her matriarchal power.

Why this play? Why now? – This piece captures the zeitgeist of news overload, anxiety, and the some coping mechanisms we employ to manage.

Curiosities – Would a younger Denise have taken off her bra and panties? Man has made up 2,996 gods to date and she lists all of the Greek and many other popular ones -- was there an Allah? Without evidence for a god, she starts wanting to connect with one to “cover her ass” also known as Pascal’s Wager. One of the criticisms of Pascal’s Wager is, “If gods are omniscient, wouldn’t they see through superficial belief motivated by self-preservation?” So as not to offend, her prayer (which ends in anger) is done in dumbshow which left me wondering, is the OYR audience too fragile to hear such things? Why make “safe” theatre?

Notable Moment – The tension with the bag.

Notable writing – This is written in three languages English, French, and dance. Dance takes centre stage. The piece doesn’t necessarily follow a traditional dramatic structure, but it clearly has three acts, prayer, mediation, and connection. This piece follows other homages to her mother.

Notable performances – Bending like Bikram, arabesque-ing a la Pavlova, ghost-walk gliding like a Geisha, and Sufi swirling - it’s an impressive dance panoply conveying inner turmoil. The rest is direct address (with an impersonation of a French producer putting the sad Anglo in her place).

Notable design/Production – There were no designers listed but the lights were effective. The music is by the Blackwood Trio who created the jazzy infused soundscape. At the end there may be a ghost strain of Abide with Me.

Notable direction – Self-directed the program states, “This is my choreographed cri de coeur for the soulful and the curious”.

One reason to see this show – She’s a living legend - abide with her a while.