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Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – reset

Playwright – Bruce Barton

Production Company/Theatre space – Sage Theatre / Vertigo City Performance, Art Gallery, Contemporary Calgary.

Length – 1 Act (1 hour 25 minutes, no intermission.)

Genre – Absurdist (billed as an immersive theatre puzzle)

Premise – Bots try to code? Parts of the brain try to rewire after trauma? Something else?

Curiosities – Why. Was. It. Necessary. To. (beat) Deliver. The (pause) dialogue. At such a sloooooooooooooooow (silence for 5 seconds) pace? When. Will. Sage. Find. A. Home?

Notable Moment – The animated bows at the end.

Notable writing – Sage Theatre having previously dipped its toe into the absurdist pool is now fully submerged. The presentation is not in a traditional theatre but in an art gallery. This frames it as an art piece rather than a theatrical work. If the black and white faces were recorded and projected as part of an exhibit one might wander behind the curtain and sit for a few minutes before quietly slipping out. In a world at breakneck speed, slowing down often involves appreciation of nature, human observation or meditation – in this case we are trapped in another reality. The tag line on the title uses the word “dangerous”; this is misleading. There is no danger to be had, no stakes at all. It is, at best, an homage to Ionesco in the digital age or a brain on quaaludes. Audience interaction is promised but there is none beyond the normal task of paying attention. Here the work strains us to stay involved since theatre is about our fellows, living, laughing, loving, killing each other and this script is devoid of humans. As it is, we are held hostage and, as polite Canadians, we endure. Playing cards, incongruously, are drawn -- presumably to determine who has the final monologue for those who are playing the one-of-these-may-be-human-I’m-not-sure-which-one game. Potentially the show has four endings which means none is important. It’s the let down the audience feels after Act One of Shear Madness, everyone “dun it” because it’s different each night. However, with a murder-mystery-comedy the audience are entertained. In absurdist theatre this is debatable. If this were an audience member’s first experience of live theatre we would lose them forever. It is an academic paper that has escaped.

Notable performances – It is said that Richard Burton was so talented he could make reading the telephone book entertaining. Champions Julie Orton, Jamie Konchak, Mike Tan, and Braden Griffiths give it their all. In lesser hands, it would be a disaster.

Notable design/Production – Projected faces of the actors that encircle the audience.

Notable direction – There is an unwritten rule that playwrights shouldn’t direct their own work. This is why.

One reason to see this show – It’s a marathon in patience or an academic exercise - your choice.