From NOW Magazine
Dust
Company: Jsquared Productions
Rating: NNNN
Venue: Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace
Show times:
Friday Aug 08/2008 - 04:00 PM
Saturday Aug 09/2008 - 06:00 PM
Sunday Aug 10/2008 - 10:00 PM
Wednesday Aug 13/2008 - 06:00 PM
Thursday Aug 14/2008 - 08:00 PM
Friday Aug 15/2008 - 10:00 PM
Saturday Aug 16/2008 - 04:00 PM
Reviewed by: Jon Kaplan
Two American soldiers meet and fall in love in Abu Ghraib prison. What's surprising about Jason Maghanoy's play is the tenderness of their relationship, mixed with the atrocities they commit against their prisoners. Under the playwright's direction, Brandon Coffey and Jessica Moss create a nuanced couple, sweet and touching one minute and insensitively right-wing the next.
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Another review from Megan Mooney, BlogTO contributor and author of Mooney on Theatre
Dust
A love story set in Abu Ghraib prison, only, really, so much more than a love story. The two actors brought this intimate space and essentially bare stage to life. The show is really bloody good. I would even say excellent. The actors were bang-on, the script was interesting, the directing was good.
The show weaves a set of complex and conflicting emotions which are fascinating to watch develop through the nuances of the story and the acting. John (my show-partner) pointed out that the actors not only had the emotional aspects down, but they also nailed the technical parts of acting, things like keeping your cues tight, really listening to the other person talking, things like that. It was very impressive to watch. It's nice to watch actors and end up forgetting that they're actors.
This is definitely one to check out - with the caveat that it's not an 'easy' play. It's great to watch, but sometimes it's hard to hear the words and think about the content. There are laughs, but this show isn't a comedy.
Dust continues at the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace on with shows on Aug 14 (8:00PM), August 15 (10:00PM), and August 16 (4:00PM). For more info, visit the Summerworks website.
http://www.blogto.com/theatre/2008/08/thursday_theatre_review_summerworks/
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The cast of Gas in Tokyo, Japan
Hangman
About Us
- jsquared.theatre
- jsquared.theatre is a collective of theatre artists committed to producing outstanding new plays in the City of Toronto, and throughout Canada. Past productions include: Say Yes, directed by Sarah Stanley as part of the 2006 SummerWorks Theatre Festival; The Corner, as part of the 2008 Next Stage Theatre Festival, Factory Theatre; Dust, as part of the 2008 SummerWorks Theatre Festival; Gas, as part of the 2010 Next Stage Theatre Festival, Factory Theatre; and a remount of Dust, as part of the 2010 Wildside Festival, Centaur Theatre, Montreal; Swoon!, as part of the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival, Factory Theatre; and Ally & Kev, as part of the 2012 SummerWorks Performance Festival. jsquared.theatre is a professional member of the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA).
The jsquared.theatre Team
Production Team
Jason Maghanoy
Jason Maghanoy
Shani Greenlaw Hamilton
Nicole Myers
Alaina Perttula
Ensemble
Cara Gee
Jeff Irving
Rosemary Dunsmore
Akosua Amo-Adem
Araya Mengesha
Sebastian Heins
Darrel Gamotin
Andrew Moodie
Tawiah M'Carthy
Julian De Zotti
Jess Salguiero
Andrew Church
Contact us
- jason.maghanoy@gmail.com
Previous Shows
- Previous Shows
Touch
Gas
The cast of Gas in Tokyo, Japan
Gas in Tokyo
These Kids
Heart
Ally & Kev
Swoon!
Nothing by Mouth
Hangman 1.0
Throat
Hangman Reading
Gas (in-translation)
Throat Reading
Gas
Dust
Partner Company
Representation
1 comment:
This play is a "must see" in a festival that is admittedly packed with excellent and diverse plays.
The actors(Jessica Moss and Brandon Coffey)seem to do the impossible. They bring true humanity and a moving love story into an environment that would seem to represent everything that is cruel and inhumane about society.
They are working at a prison where torture and violence is the norm, and yet, the skill of Jason Maghanoy's writing allows the characters to explore the possibility of hope and even beauty in a seemingly hopeless situation.
You know it is an excellent play when you leave the theater questioning your own views on the world we live in. What would you do under those circumstances? How would you cope? Jessica Moss and Brandon Coffey provide two very relatable and powerfully honest answers to this question.
This play is definitely worth making an effort to see.
- Kendall Hall
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