August: Osage County
Where: Langham Court Theatre
When: To May 9
Rating: 4 1/2 out of five
In American theatre, there’s a long and distinguished history of drama about dysfunctional families.
Among them: Long Day’s Journey Into Night (mom’s addicted to morphine), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (a night of drunken vitriol) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (booze, bullying, bile).
A newer entry is August: Osage County by Tracy Letts, a 2007 play that’s akin to witnessing a slow-motion car wreck. For three hours, a pill-popping matriarch wreaks nuclear-strength havoc on her family following her husband’s abrupt disappearance.
It’s not exactly lighthearted fun. But it is a terrific play (much better than the subsequent film adaptation) worth seeking out. And the Victoria Theatre Guild has done a superb job with a challenging script. In 25-plus years of attending Langham Court Theatre, this is one of the best productions I’ve seen there.
Beverly (Nick Stull) is an alcoholic poet/university professor who vanishes almost immediately. Uniting in the face of crisis, his three adult daughters converge on the family home in Pawhuska, Oklahoma, during a heat wave. There, we meet his wife, Violet (Susie Mullen), a hard-bitten Gorgon who fires acid-tipped verbal darts while gobbling prescription drugs with nihilistic gusto.
Her behaviour is especially trying, as each of the daughters is facing a personal crisis. Barbara (Lorene Cammiade), who shares a dollop of her mother’s bitterness, has just separated from her husband. Flaky Karen (Renee Yakemchuk) is engaged to a morally vacant loser. And good-hearted Ivy (Shara Campsall) has begun a romantic relationship that’s equally ill-advised.
Sporadic comic relief is provided by Violet’s sister, Mattie Fae, who’s almost as nasty as her sibling. On Tuesday, Hilary F. Allan did well in the role, especially when Mattie Fae swigs Jack Daniels (just a “cocktail” she declares) while insisting her long-suffering husband Charlie (Peter McNab) feel her sweaty back.
August: Osage County has an oppressive, Southern Gothic feel — if Flannery O’Connor was in the audience, she’d no doubt be grinning like a Cheshire cat. Like O’Connor, Letts relentlessly explores morality and hypocrisy in a complex way. Violet’s greed (she seems more interested in money than people) is perhaps explained by her poverty-ridden upbringing. Even Ivy’s forbidden love, which flaunts a fundamental societal taboo, is open to debate — at least in the context Letts presents.
In this drama, most of the men are philanderers. The women are the stronger figures, seemingly intent on survival at any cost. Typically, one declares defiantly: “I am still here, goddamnit!”
The play is well directed by Keith Digby (former artistic director of the Bastion Theatre) and Cynthia Pronick. The ensemble cast is strong, especially the female actors.
As Violet, Mullen captures the hard-bitten toughness of the working-class survivor who’s endured a life of hardship. Mullen made deft use of gesture, conveying much with a cigarette puff or a distracted wave. Her drug-addled Violet is a living nightmare, yet we saw flashes of humanity here and there. It’s a keystone role that demands authenticity, which Mullen ably provides.
Equally strong is Cammiade, a Langham Court veteran, who, as Barbara, offered the best performance I’ve so far seen from her. Like Violet, Barbara is damaged. Yet, heartbreakingly, she appears to be more aware of this than her mother. Cammiade was especially fine in a scene in which Barbara admits she’s puzzled as to why her husband is leaving (the reasons are painfully obvious to us).
Newcomer Yakemchuk was no less impressive in her best scene. In a lengthy monologue, Karen paints a mini portrait of a sad, compromised life. It would be easy to caricature the character, who seems ditzy. Yet Yakemchuk, in a skilled performance, found nuance and delicacy.
The show’s only weak spot was (unfortunately) the final few lines, which seemed self-conscious and contrived.
All the actors had good moments. Space doesn’t permit a full discussion. However, the large cast includes Wayne Yercha, Mark Riishede, Michael Gosselin, Keshia Palm, Perry Burton and a promising young actor, Amanda Wear.
Special kudos go to Dan Thachuk, whose multi-levelled set of a country home features clever cutaways that allow the audience into every nook and cranny.
This play isn’t for the faint of heart. But it is for people who truly enjoy theatre.
