World Stage/Theatre Centre’s Free Fall ’10 – Theatre Junction’s On the Side of the Road

Reviewed by Paula Citron.

Anyone who follows my reviews knows the word Eurotrash. Well here’s a new one for you – Canajunk. Both refer to tedious, self-indulgent shows that pummel the audience with idiocy that is clearly pretentious twaddle.

Theatre Junction, from Calgary no less, brought Canajunk to town, with its execrable On the Side of the Road. That this show was part of both World Stage and the Theatre Centre’s Free Fall Festival was a total lapse of judgement on the part of the usually astute producers.

The theme is the collision between the rational and the unconscious after an accident sends a young woman into a coma when her car hits a deer. Meaningless dialogue is interpolated with tuneless songs. There is also a dancer whose role is inexplicable.

In the program notes, artistic director Mark Lawes says that his company’s archaeological approach combines all the arts in an accessible new pop-art hybrid. All this Canajunk did was waste a beautiful set by Julie Fox.

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On the Side of the Road
Theatre Junction (Calgary)
Free Fall ‘10
World Stage/Theatre Centre
Devised by the company
Directed by Mark Lawes
Starring Raphaele Thiriet, Diane Busuttil, Ian Kilburn, Stephen P. Turner, Virginie Thomas, Mike Tan and Nicolas Bernier
Fleck Dance Theatre, Mar. 25 to 27, 2010
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