Daniel Kash, Jonathan Seinen, Alden Adair, Tony Nappo. Photo Cylla von Tiedemann
Reviewed by James Karas
A God in Need of Help
by Sean Dixon. What a marvelous play and what a terrific production by Tarragon
Theatre. Go see it.
This is a brief list of what you will get if you see the play: a history
lesson, a lecture on art appreciation, an intimation of the encounter of the
classical world with Europe of the Renaissance, an indication of the great
encounter between the Muslim world and the Christian West, allusions to the war
between Catholicism and Protestantism and …I know I have missed a few things.
And did I say a terrific night at the theatre that is stimulating,
thought-provoking and entertaining in the best sense of the word?
Let’s concentrate on the last point. You have gone to the theatre and
not the Art Gallery, after all.
The plot is fascinating. In 1606, four strong men are selected to carry The
Brotherhood of the Rosary, a large painting by Albrecht Durer, from
Venice to Prague. They are led by a mercenary Captain in the employ of Rudolf
II, Holy Roman Emperor and the recipient of the painting.
When the play opens we see the Captain bound and gagged and the four
carriers of the painting hooded in prison and about to be interrogated by a
Cardinal Archbishop and a Venetian Magistrate. A miracle is alleged to have occurred on the
way to Prague: the Virgin Mary stepped out of the paining with the Baby Jesus
in her arms!
Photo of the company by Cylla von Tiedemann
The strength of Dixon’s play is that it has characters that are
distinct, interesting and develop, a plot that has Aristotelian virtues and a
production that is able to capitalize on these assets.
The cast is outstanding. Jonathan Seinen plays Rafal, a 17-year old who
is a magician, an alchemist, a bit of a charlatan but also a visionary, a man
who reaches from the Renaissance to classical mythology and civilization. He is
beaten, sodomized and mistreated but he never ceases to grab our attention.
Dolfin, played by Tony Napo, is a flamboyant actor, a naïve human being
and a man who wants to survive. Cocco, played
by Daniel Cash, is a retired soldier, a realist who can be a brute and Marco
(Alden Adair) a rough-and-ready oarmaker. The leader of the group is a Captain
(Dmitry Chepovetsky), a mercenary who is capable of almost anything from the
destruction of art to abusing the men, especially Rafal.
The description of the journey by the five men is controlled by
Borromeo, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan (Greg Ellward). Dixon eschews the easy
characterization of the Cardinal as a closed-minded, authoritarian cleric of
the Inquisition and gives us a man who is relatively humane, considers all
pints of view and tries to save the prisoners.
The power of the state is represented by Zen, a prosecutorial Magistrate
for the Republic of Venice played as a heavy by John Cleland.
The set by Set and Costume Designer Camellia Koo is effective simplicity
itself. There is a large copy of the painting at the back. When the men “carry”
the panting over the Alps, they pick up only the frame and raise it over their
heads. The Cardinal is seated in a chair on a ramp in the audience and much of
the time we see his back only and hear his rational voice.
Richard Rose directs masterfully a production that harkens to the Chorus
in Henry V and shows us that the Tarragon Theatre can indeed hold a vasty part
of history and a bloody good night at the theatre.
Now for your history lesson: Who won The Battle of Lepanto?
______
A God in Need of Help
by Sean Dixon runs from April 16 to May 25, 2014
at the Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. Toronto, Ontario. www.tarragontheatre.com
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