Tarragon – Greg Nelson's The Fall

by Paula Citron.
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The Fall
Tarragon Theatre
Written by Greg Nelson
Directed by Jennifer Tarver
Starring Sarah Dodd and Ashley Wright
At Tarragon Extra Space until Apr. 27
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Greg Nelson has written a cunning and compelling play in The Fall. Currently running at the Tarragon Extra Space, the play features two actors, four characters and a crisis of the soul.

Actors Sarah Dodd and Ashley Wright switch back and forth in time. In the present, they are a University of Ottawa professor and the son of a Supreme Court judge. In the past, Dodd and Wright are a reporter and the judge himself. Nelson’s premise is that the judge helped write Canada’s Charter of Rights and that the son is just now hearing about a dark side of his father that he never knew existed. The acting is superb as Dodd and Wright switch characters on a dime, and director Jennifer Tarver has ensured that there are four different characters on stage.

Most Canadians find our politics dry in comparison to our American neighbours. Nelson actually manages to make Ottawa a hot topic.

The Fall continues at Tarragon Extra Space until Apr. 27.