The Toronto theatre artist plays a man struggling with grief, pressure and the limits of control in a new solo performance.
In Versus, Adam Lazarus plays Gerald Bloom, a man facing his birthday as though it were another contest he must win.
The production, running Nov. 11 to 28 at The Theatre Centre in Toronto, combines horror, comedy, delusion and grief in an examination of the expectations people place on themselves. Created by Lazarus, Guillermo Verdecchia and Ann-Marie Kerr, the show follows Gerald as accumulated pressures beneath an outwardly comfortable life begin to overwhelm him.
According to the theatre’s synopsis, Gerald does not want to attend his birthday party because “everything feels like a fight.” The production promises a theatrical journey through “the horror, comedy, delusion, grief, and joy of being human.”
Lazarus, an actor, director, theatre creator and instructor, is known for solo work shaped by dark comedy. He describes Gerald not as an everyman but as a recognizable figure: a man with two children, a dog, a house, and the privilege that comes with that life.
Gerald is also conscious of forces beyond his control. Lazarus said the character approaches hardship in the wrong way: “It’s always a fight.”
The conflict is tied to what Lazarus calls the “we should be” pressures of contemporary life — the demand to be a good parent, act responsibly and meet an expanding list of social and personal obligations. In the play, those standards become impossible for Gerald to satisfy.
“How do we be good people in the world with all of these expectations that are impossible to meet?” Lazarus said. “Things get tough.”
Although Gerald appears to have a good life, he is increasingly unable to maintain it. Lazarus said the character would benefit from fighting less, listening more and showing greater empathy toward himself and the world around him.
The themes connect with Lazarus’s career-long interest in theatre that unsettles audiences as well as entertains them. He has worked extensively in bouffon, a form that uses comedy and provocation to expose hypocrisy.
Lazarus studied English and theatre outside a conservatory setting before playwright Paul Thompson introduced him to collective creation and encouraged him to think about sustainable ways of making theatre. Early in his career, Lazarus financed productions in part by collecting discarded pennies from shopping-mall fountains with permission from mall operators.
He later created performances in rented lofts converted into temporary, around-the-clock theatre spaces. A turning point came after he saw Splice in Vancouver in 2001, featuring Kerr. Lazarus said the production introduced him to Lecoq-based theatre and led him to study in Halifax and France, including bouffon training with Philippe Gaulier.
Kerr, now a collaborator on Versus, helped encourage that development. The resulting production draws together Lazarus’s interests in comedy, discomfort and the emotional contradictions of ordinary life.
Versus runs Nov. 11 to 28 at the Franco Boni Theatre at The Theatre Centre, 1115 Queen St. W., Toronto. Tickets and information are available at theatrecentre.org/event/versus or by calling 416-538-0988.
