THEATRE
TIMEPIECE
By Kico Gonzales-Risso
Director: Moe Dwyer
Producer: Mark Colis
Theatre Burlington Drama Centre
2311 New Street
February 7, 8, 14, 15, 21, 22 @ 8:00 pm
Matinees: February 9 and 16 @ 2:00 pm
Tickets: 905-639-7700 or online at theatreburlington.on.ca
I've been working in the Canadian theatre now for more than 40 years, and have a more than passing familiarity with the work of playwrights across the country. But I will confess that I had never heard of Gonzales-Risso, the Vancouver-based Chilean-Canadian playwright whose powerful two-act comic drama TIMEPIECE makes its regional debut out at Theatre Burlington in February.
"As the clock ticks down in the kitchen, the kids want to plan for the future. Mom wants a smooth transition into the golden years, while Dad doesn’t understand what all the fuss is about. This dark comedy explores the parent-child relationship amid a changing family dynamic"; or so the blurb tells us.
Vancouver-based playwright Kico Gonzales-Risso's works have been staged across Canada, in Australia, and in cities throughout the United States. He is also a translator and director — his English version of Mozart’s THE MAGIC FLUTE was broadcast on CBC’s Saturday Afternoon at the Opera. Gonzales-Risso, is a key member of the west coast theatre scene, having founded a very important company in Kitsilano British Columbia, where between 1979 and 1993, he produced, in addition to his own original work, lots of European classics such as Vaclav Havel, and Brecht.
TIMEPIECE is a slow-burning tale of aging parents and their adult children who collectively cherish and pine for independence. Retired clock-mender and inveterate tinkerer Walter resists his wife Dora’s arguments that it’s time to downsize their home and simplify their lifestyle. As their children anticipate the loss of family touchstones, Walter’s intransigence makes him launch a scheme with potentially explosive consequences.
"It's a play about relationships: the struggle to be seen and heard, the loyalty inherent in a good relationship, the need to find identity and approval by a child from their parent, and the rivalry between two siblings to be 'top dog'. It's a play about love and grief, truth and guilt, and family."
Patrick and Karla seem to have a simple task - to help their parents Walter and Doris put their affairs in order before it’s too late. The kids want to plan for the future, mom wants a smooth transition into old age, dad doesn’t see what all the fuss is about.
I'll be seeing the production on the first weekend. By all accounts it looks to be a compelling evening out at the theatre.
- Brian Morton
www.theatre-erebus.ca