Du 18 au 30 mars 2008, 20h

Zarathustra Said Some Things, No?

Texte de Trevor Ferguson
Mise en scène de Guy Sprung
Avec Lina Roessler and Brett Watson

Adrienne and Ricky, a Canadian couple in a seedy Paris hotel, have made a suicide pact that they have, so far, failed to complete.  They make one last attempt.  As the story unfolds, the sources of their dysfunction are slowly revealed as their relationship becomes more unsettling and the games they play become more and more disturbing.

Zarathustra paints a painful vision of a lost generation, as two young people are overwhelmed by a tide of convoluted pathologies. Trevor Ferguson creates an intense and insightful examination of addiction and abuse.  The play received extraordinary reviews for its "out-of-town-tryout" in New York (in the Spring of 2006), and is now ready for its Canadian première.  The production will travel on to the Factory Theatre in Toronto after its Montreal run.

Set designer : Katka Hubacek
Costume designer : Elli Bunton
Lighting designer : Mark Baehr

Une production InfiniTheatre

Mardi à samedi : 20h
Matinée (dimanche) : 14h
Régulier : 20$
Étudiants, Aînés : 15$
Groupes (6 personnes et plus) : 10$

La Chapelle
3700, rue Saint-Dominique
Billetterie : 514-843-7738

review by Geneviève Germain

The name Zarathustra holds a particular reference for a play title. In Nietzsche’s books, Zarathustra evokes will and power, and lingers on good and bad. Although seemingly an odd choice at first, the title suits Montreal playwright Trevor Ferguson’s play to perfection. After first being produced in New York in 2006, the tightly twisted story of Zarathustra Said Some Things, No? is now brought back to Montreal with same acting cast. With strong themes such as sex, suicide and abuse, the least we can say is that Ferguson’s play is straightforwardly daring.

It must have been quite a challenge for actors Lina Roessler and Brett Watson to impersonate so genuinely the two tormented protagonists of this play. Forming an odd couple that taunts life with suicide plans, we slowly discover different twists and surprises in their backgrounds and personalities. Using sex as bait, Adrienne (Roessler) seems at first completely dominant over partner Ricky (Watson). Both sustaining this uneven relationship through different games, some including disturbing role playing, Ricky takes over as Adrienne’s confidence gradually crumbles down. Ferguson shows great dexterity with dialogues in this play as his writing tends to tell at times crudely, but always without unveiling it all, leaving it open for personal interpretation and releasing information gradually as the plot unfolds.

Photo credits : Riccardo Cellere

Although Director Guy Sprung manages to bring out all the agonizing thoughts and the tremendously deep wounds that both characters bear, the mystery around their past experiences and present motives remains. Always a challenging act, Zarathustra comes out as troubling for the audience as for Ricky and Adrienne. Their make-up world being filled with philosophical imagination, multiple images are brought through their elaborate dialogues. The most breathtaking moment must be when they finally choose to go ahead with their suicide plans as Adrienne begs to hold on to the light that still animates them.

This story is so extreme that it can seem hard to truly relate to the characters.  Ricky and Adrienne’s sex talk is harsh, and their view on life and others is dark, but they are still filled with such creative energy that we find ourselves hoping for them to pull through. That is surely the play’s main attraction, along with the undeniable connection between the two actors that carry this play with ease.

Zarathustra Said Some Things, No? delivers a surprisingly different type of entertainment, offering a different at people’s ways of dealing with life’s difficulties.

20-03-2008