The Boss of it All

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – The Boss of it All

Playwright/s – Lars von Trier adapted by Jack McNamara

Production Company/Theatre space – The Theatre, (yes, the new company is called “The Theatre”) at the base of Fontainbleau Estates on 14^th Ave and 2^nd Street SW.

Length – One act, 1 hour 30 minutes (one intermission)

Genre/s – Meta Sitcom

Premise – An actor is hired to represent the owner of the tech company by the people-pleasing real owner for nefarious reasons.

Why this play? Why now? – Office politics are familiar to a large segment of the downtown workers and comedy is always a good idea.

Curiosities – What are the stakes for the “actor” who contemplates committing fraud? The playwright is known for “dark humour, psychological intensity and a relentless interrogation of power, morality and human behaviour” but this could have been a dinner theatre show – did that happen in translation? Is the theatre going to be the new spice in town like Sage and Tarragon?

Notable Moment – It didn’t make sense, but I the subtle dance moves were funny.

Notable writing – The playwright uses the English-to-English translation bit popularized by ‘Allo ‘Allo a sitcom in the 80s. The conceit is that when the translator translates for characters who don’t speak the language of the other, they do so in the accent of the language they are using. This has all sorts of farcical opportunities but I this case was just the one joke repeated – as the angry American is softened in translation. It’s the voiceover of the omnipresent director in the scene changes that adds an interesting layer. The voice becoming the actual boss of it all.

Notable performances – David O’Brien is the actor playing “the actor” closer to realism, while the others office workers have various degrees of caricatures, some of which are very broad. Ray Dalhousie and Paige Miner are in a different play than co-workers Mick Creaby and Mira Maschmeyer. Stylistically they didn’t quite gel, but the cast still worked together to provide an enjoyable evening’s entertainment.

Notable design/Production – Like the other sets before, this too, has a beautifully clean aesthetic and is efficient. Lighs, sound, costumes all worked.

Notable direction – Co-directors, Abagail Vanmerlin and Jakob Schaefer didn’t have everyone rowing in the same direction, nevertheless there are some genuinely funny moments. Upon leaving I heard two patrons talking about how this show was better than a big theatre company’s show they had just seen– and that is a clear win.

One reason to see this show – At this stage in the world, we need more comedy on the stage.