LETTER ONE

 

Cannibalism in Van Diemen's Land, Tony Nardi's Letter Two, and Coma Unplugged
Today is Tuesday September 8, 2009
By Pat Donnelly
Stage and Page with Pat Donnelly - Montreal Gazette

Thus far, my weekend cutlural trajectory has included an Australian film at the World Film Festival (Van Diemen's Land), a one-man show by actor Tony Nardi titled Letter Two at Espace Libre, and a cabaret-style play, Coma Unplugged, at Théâtre du Rideau Vert. Each had its moments, its flashes of insight and glimpses of intention. But none of the three succeeded as a whole.

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As for Tony Nardi's Letter Two, his passionate, heartfelt complaint about Canadian culture provoked by a couple of negative reviews of a Goldoni play in Toronto, it's long. And rambling. Although he reads his script from a computer (which I sincerely hope does not provoke a trend), he delivers it without a missing a beat or a tripping over a word. A real feat considering the speed at which he operates. His finest moment is his turn as Arlecchino testifying about the play during a trial scene. I enjoyed his Montreal anecdote about the cast from a production of Arthur Kopit's Indians waiting in Darwin's bar for a review written by my late friend and colleague, Bruce Bailey. And you have to admire Nardi's chutzpah in lashing out at the entire Toronto theatre establishment as well as the theatre critics of the city's two leading newspapers.

But what, exactly, is his point? Like a porcupine, he shoots quills in every direction.

Still, if this be mid-life crisis, it's an articulate one. And for him, it seems to be working. Not only was this show booked into Espace Libre (with subtitles) to kick off that experimental company's season, it has already been made into a film -- currently in the editing process, he says. It will be interesting to see how it turns out. No one can deny the necessity of editing for film. Within the theatre, however, some people just don't know when to quit. At nearly two and a half hours, plus discussion period, Letter Two is a test of attention spans.

On Friday night, Moira Wylie and Douglas Campbell joined Nardi on stage for the talkback. Which almost created a second play-after-the-play, with bold declarations on many subjects from Campbell, and bilingual participation from the crowd.

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