Another home invasion

Joan MacLeod’s play as visited by the Tableau D’Hôte Theatre

By Byron Toben

This excellent short (80 minutes) one-person play takes on two long-term problems. One is the aging of the population, especially as it affects couples. The other is the phenomenon of home invasions.

Are the two, in results, so different? Perhaps one — bureaucratic, exasperating and unending — the other, short term, often violent — but both traumatic. At least this seems to me to be the reason for playwright Joan MacLeod’s insertion of the adjective “Another” as the lead of her title.

B.C. based Ms MacLeod has written nine acclaimed plays and received a fistful of awards so it is a pleasure to see this example at our end of the country.

B.C. based Ms MacLeod has written nine
acclaimed plays and received a fistful
of awards so it is a pleasure to see
this example at our end of the country.

A one-person show is always difficult to mount since, as the theatrical cliché goes, “Acting is Reacting”. Stand–up comics can carry it off, but it is more challenging with serious stuff. It helps to have subtle direction and fine acting, which are present here with, respectively, Mike Payette and Deena Aziz.

Ms Aziz portrays Jean, the wife of an octogenarian couple whose husband, Alex suffers from Alzheimer’s. They live alone in a small house awaiting transfer to an assisted living residence nearby but face either separation because her health is OK or transfer to a far away place which might accept them as a couple but lose nearby contact with their daughter and grand child.

The wait is compounded by the intrusion of an inarticulate disturbed intruder. How did he get into the house? Why didn’t she act on a forewarning?

All this brought to us by the inventive Tableau D’Hôte Theatre that was co-founded by Mr Payette and Mathieu Perron.

Mr Payette is the newly appointed director of Geordie Theatre.

Another Home Invasion continues at the MAI – Montréal, arts interculturels until March 26.
Tickets: 514 982-3386 and m-a-i.qc.ca

Images: courtesy of Tableau D’Hôte Theatre

Byron Toben is the immediate past-president of the Montreal Press Club.