CLYDE’S – REVIEW OF 2026 CANADIAN STAGE PRODUCTION

Reviewed by James Karas 

Playwright Lynn Nottage’s interest and affinity with the downtrodden of the earth continues with her play Clyde’s which is now playing at the Bluma Appel Theatre in Toronto.

In Intimate Apparel she dealt with life in New York’s garment district at the turn of the 20^th century. In Sweat she turned to the tragic lives of factory workers when their boss closes the plant where they work. In Ruined she addressed the fate of an African women who is abducted by solders and the held chained for five months and raped by them. When she is released, she is considered ruined and shunned by all including her husband. She turns to prostitution.

In Clyde’s, Nottage presents the lives of four people working in a decrepit sandwich shop serving as a truck stop. It is a dump operated by a remorseless and cruel owner called Clyde (Sophia Walker). The kitchen workers are considered losers (they are not) because they have all served time in prison. But there is one big difference. These workers have a taste for and the ability to make extraordinary sandwiches. Clyde couldn’t care less about superior sandwiches and she treats her workers like garbage.

Letitia (Jasmine Case) is a young, single mother with a criminal record trying to survive. Rafael (Augusto Bitter) is a recovering drug addict with a romantic bent. He tries to take Letitia on a date but she does not show up and hurts him. There is a realization of their humanity for both. Jason (Jonathan Sousa) is a newcomer to the kitchen and he is hot-headed and in danger of committing an act of violence.

Montrellous (Sterling Jarvis) is a gentle soul, a peace maker and above all a master sandwich artist. He can create a masterpiece between two pieces of bread and he describes it with passion. His enthusiastic description of the ingredients and process of making a great sandwich are so beautiful and infectious he may well be describing a renaissance painting by a great artist. Jarvis’s performance is stunning.

                                       The cast of Clyde's at Bluma Appel Theatre. Photo: Dahlia Katz
 Making marvelous sandwiches for a creepy employer in a dump in rural Pennsylvania may seem like an unusual and limited subject for a play. Not so in the hands of Lynn Nottage.

The plot develops organically with drama and humour as we  discover the background of the characters and the possibilities of creating sandwiches to kill for. The “losers” are human with aspirations, maybe ambitions, but certainly hopes. Clyde’s sandwiches receive a glowing review in a local newspaper and Montrellous sees an opportunity for growing the business but Clyde is too blind and nasty to see the prospect of growth.  

We quickly realize that the perfect sandwich is a metaphor for hope, for freedom, for redemption as we follow the lives of Nottage’s characters. It is a paean for the downtrodden who find strength and perhaps a way out in their joint humanity, splendid work.

Walker delivers a superb performance as the sadistic Clyde who, in the end, cannot defeat the common humanity of the workers that she is abusing, Bitter, Case and Sousa are superb in their roles.

The set designed by Rachel Forbes shows a dumpy kitchen behind the serving window where the orders are placed. There are some magic flares designed by Michael Kras that I took to be the sparks of hope and maybe rebelliousness that were within the workers or may have been inspired by Montrellous.

Director Philip Akin’s highly experienced hand in dealing with quality theatre, does so with attention to detail and care for the text. Superb work.  
_______________________
Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage opened on April 15 and will run until April 26, 2026, at the Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario. www.canstage.com

James Karas is the Culture Editor of The Greek Press, Toronto.