It is paradoxical that a play inspired by a valedictory prayer—asking simply for rest and refuge from the cares of life—should take as its central conflict the constant struggle for the passion of living in the present, with all it entails. The Busy World is Hushed, Keith Bunin’s theologically charged exploration of existence and belief, opens the new Northern Light Theatre season in a production that is also paradoxical in that it displays sheer guts coupled with a jarring gemütlichkeit.
As the play opens in Hannah’s (Holly Turner) cozy, panelled study, Brandt (Trevor Schmidt) is in the midst of an interview with a sharply intelligent Episcopalian minister. She needs him to ghostwrite her new book, a translation and interpretation of a newly discovered Coptic gospel. Brandt is unqualified for the job, but Hannah, who has a habit of hiring agnostics, is intrigued, and enlists his help. Enter Thomas (Farren Timoteo), Hannah’s prodigal son; he and Brandt are attracted to each other, and Hannah espies salvation for her troubled relationship with her son within that attraction.
Bunin, with his knack for wittily intellectual repartee, sets the stage rapidly and effectively for a head-on dramatic among the disparate plotlines. There’s the unfolding love story, an unnamed tragedy surrounding Hannah’s past, Thomas’s efforts to learn more about his long-dead father, and Brandt’s emotional and spiritual struggle to accept his own father’s impending death. Each experiences his or her own private Gethsemane and the struggles are cold, frightening and lonely. Which is where this production falls down.
Some odd directorial choices mire this production in a strangely comfortable rut. The arguments don’t quite make the leap from page to stage, despite committed performances from the cast. There’s languidness at play where the words rather than emotion driving them are paramount. It’s as though director Skye Brandon has encouraged his cast to dwell too much on the style and central questions of the play rather than the human crises seething beneath the words. While good, there isn’t a sense of insight which would make the drama onstage at the Third Space more pointed. The palpability of high emotional stakes and desperation of people clinging to hope, fighting to remain true to their beliefs in the face of crumbling doubt is conspicuously absent. And the addition of a soundtrack, albeit a beautiful one, at key emotional moments is jarring, propelling the play into soap opera rather than human drama.
The dynamic Hannah probably fares worst due to this treatment. Despite Holly Turner’s best efforts, the dynamism of the woman is muffled. While Turner delivers moments of pathos and evinces great humour, the essence of doubt is missing, the constant sense of struggle—she seems resigned. As catalyst, Farren Timoteo’s Thomas strikes the right note of bitter rebellion. It’s also wonderful to see a performer of Timoteo’s talent stretch himself in decidedly different work than the comedic and musical theatre productions he’s usually cast in.
However, the play really does belong to Trevor Schmidt. His Brandt is a fully inhabited, fallible and achingly realized character. Schmidt is on the record as saying this dramatic piece is very personal to him, and that commitment enables him to raise the strictures of the directorial choices. Perhaps a bit measured in the first scenes of the play but, as Schmidt finds his rhythm, the emotional truth portrayed is blistering. V
Until Sun, Sep 30
The Busy World is Hushed
Directed by Skye Brandon
Written by Keith Bunin
Starring Trevor Schmidt, Farren Timoteo, Holly Turner
Third Space (11516-103st); $18/$20
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