“A disturbing journey that is sometimes frightening to hear and watch. It’s an admirable production, albeit with a couple of moments that puzzled me. The Welkin’s strength lies in the actor performances combined with a terrific visual look and sound. It will, however, not be to all tastes. Go in with an open mind.”
The Canadian premiere of Lucy Kirkwood’s The Welkin has a powerful intensity reminiscent of Arthur Miller’s haunting The Crucible and Reginald Rose’s claustrophobic Twelve Angry Men. This production also evokes thoughts of another notable Canadian play featuring strong female characters: Michel Tremblay’s Les Belles Soeurs.
One of the strengths of this Canadian premiere is the exceptional cast of women. They perform with a realistic intensity that remains disturbing and unsettling at times. Please be advised that the language used by these ladies is occasionally salty and colourful. A couple of the ladies are upper-class; I wondered if they would realistically use that kind of vulgar language that some of the lower-class women do.
Two things to remember.
First, I’m seeing the story from a male perspective. A female playwright, female director and strong female cast allow males to enter a world that might seem foreign.
Second, the very reason we go to the theatre is to experience life differently from the one we know.
Isn’t that what theatre is supposed to do? Shake its audience to its very core?
This production did just that to me.
Set in rural England in 1759, with Halley’s Comet visible in the night sky, Kirkwood’s engaging plot (for the most part) unfolds around the murder of a child. Sally Poppy (Bahia Watson) has been unfaithful to her husband, Frederick Poppy (Cameron Laurie), whose testimony leads to his wife being sentenced to death. Sally asserts that she is pregnant, which could result in her sentence being commuted. Twelve women, convened by bailiff Bill Coombes (Craig Lauzon), are tasked with determining Sally’s fate. Their deliberations include vigorous debate and disagreement, featuring moments of dark humour as well as periods of shocking revelations that left me floored in disbelief. I’ll do my best not to spoil.
This Canadian premiere is visually stunning and audibly captivating. Bonnie Beecher’s eerie and shadowy lighting designs create a haunting atmosphere, while Julie Fox’s depiction of the cavernous and musty-looking sequester room adds to the overall effect. Michelle Tracey’s remarkable costume recreations of the era are equally impressive, and Thomas Ryder Payne’s carefully chosen preshow music sets the tone perfectly. In the second act, there’s a song that should be recognizable to the audience; its arrangement had me nodding my head in time with the beat.
Weyni Mengesha closes out her seven-year tenure as Artistic Director with The Welkin. Her direction is bold and confrontational. The women address and navigate their emotions in response to their struggles for their rights within the world they know in the play. At one point, one of the characters speaks and asks if the women present are both honourable and respectable in how they are dealing with the task assigned to them. These two questions prompted me to reflect on the recent world events that have unfolded over the past few days. Have citizens behaved honourably and respectfully towards the assassination south of us?
Performances are solid, and that remains the reason to see the show. A minor quibble I had occurred in the second act. It’s too long. At one point, it made a great deal of sense, where I thought the show would conclude. It didn’t, and the scene continues for several more minutes. Without spoiling the plot, a couple of elements didn’t make sense to me, and I’m still sitting on them. Perhaps an overnight might clarify the puzzlement I’m still experiencing.
Sally and Lizzy Luke, played by Bahia Watson and Mayko Nguyen, are the central characters who confidently create and build an ominous intensity that resonates with storm-like, epic proportions. The dynamic between Watson’s Sally and Nguyen’s Lizzy leads to a captivating back-and-forth, making it difficult to decide whom to believe. There’s an engrossing back-and-forth of logic, wit and sense, making it difficult to decide whom to believe. And that’s the point. We’re supposed to struggle in deciding who’s telling the truth and who’s not. Secondary subplots become mixed in with the through line of deciding Sally’s fate, which also adds to the heightened tempestuousness of the moment.
Running time: approximately two hours and 35 minutes with one interval/intermission.
The Welkin runs to October 5 in the Baillie Theatre, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane, Toronto. For tickets: (416) 866-8666 or visit youngcentre.ca
SOULPEPPER, CROW’S and THE HOWLAND COMPANY present
The Canadian Premiere
The Welkin by Lucy Kirkwood
Directed by Weyni Mengesha
Set Designer: Julie Fox
Costume Designer: Michelle Tracey
Lighting Designer: Bonnie Beecher
Sound Designer and Arranger: Thomas Ryder Payne
Stage Manager: Sam Hale
Performers: Mayko Nguyen, Bahia Watson, Olunike Adeliyi, Ghazal Azarbad, Nadine Bhabha, Brefny Caribou, Raquel Duffy, Kyra Harper, Fiona Highet, Courtney Ch’ng Lancaster, Cameron Laurie, Craig Lauzon, Annie Luján, Hallie Seline, Addison Wagman, Oliver Dennis (Voice only), Liisa Repo-Martell (Lizzy Luke Alternate)
