I first discovered Why Not Theatre at last year’s Luminato Festival, on assignment for Precedent. I was ushered into a tiny room at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in the Distillery District, where I was met by three mimes, a lightbulb and a tape deck. In the space of 10 minutes, the geniuses of Why Not Theatre staged Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Raven” with only the barest of essentials. The pain in the room was palpable; I too, mourned for Lenore by the time the lights were up.
Toronto-based Why Not Theatre has nailed it again — “it” being contemporary, experimental, physical theatre of the highest order, this time in the form of I’m So Close… While I love a good festival (they afford culture-seekers the opportunity to sample a smorgasboard of artistic pleasures), this weekend should be all about one play: I’m So Close…
Inspired by Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, the play centres around Steve (Troels Hagen Findsen) and Stella (Katrina Bugaj), a young couple living in a world of technological “connectedness.” Steve is an ambitious inventor who’s got the next big eco-friendly product in full production swing, which takes him all around the world on business jaunts as poor Stella is stuck at home watching documentary after documentary to entertain herself.
Although Steve and Stella are connected by Steve’s virtual assistant, Raj (Ravi Jain), who is stationed in New Delhi and they have telephones, iPhones, computers and every other technological tether, the two struggle to retain their love and intimacy in the midst of Steve’s hectic work life. Sound familiar?
At times, the e-dialogue between Stella and Steve is so realistic that I had tears in my eyes. I’ve had some late lawyering nights involving texted conversations so similar that I almost jumped out of my skin and on to the stage to let the couple know that they are not alone — we all suffer from disconnected virtual talk.
I’m So Close… is so gracefully acted by Findsen, Bugaj and Jain, that, at times, the show feels more like a dance than a play. It weaves together modern technology, neolithic-era archaeology and a love story, all the while questioning the purpose of human life. (Hint: it’s not about working 24/7!) There are artful layers of meaning to this piece of theatre — all you have to do is show up and get ready to peel them back.
I’m So Close. . . runs tonight (Friday, April 2) and tomorrow at The Theatre Centre (1087 Queen St. W.) at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Call 416-534-9261 for tickets.