ARMADILLOS – REVIEW OF FACTORY THEATRE PRODUCTION

 Reviewed James Karas 

Armadillos is a new play by Colleen Wagner that is now playing at Factory Theatre in Toronto. Wagner is a prolific writer and her biographical blurb in the program informs us that “she was a professor at York University and has taught numerous courses on playwriting and screenwriting at various institutions across Canada.” Armadillos may not rank as one of her finest plays.

The play deals with the treatment of women and illustrates its message through Greek mythology and a current narrative. The four characters of the mythical part are Zeus, Hera, Thetis and Peleus. In a play-within-a-play, they are performing a representation of Zeus (Ryan Hollyman) in primordial time who is trying to solidify his power on Mount Olympus as the chief honcho. He sees possible opposition from the goddess Thetis who is  supported by the mother goddess Gaia. The solution is to get rid of Thetis by any means. Hera retains the services of the mortal heroic warrior Peleus as the hit man of the operation.

Hollyman’s Zeus is loud, dictatorial and concerned about his hold on power. He is also a brute who satisfies his lecherous appetite frequently through rape and incest (Hera is his wife and sister). Mirabella Sundar Singh is a feisty Thetis who wants to secure a good position for herself in the celestial government. Zeus is a liar and tries to pretend he is giving her a contract with a good position and possibilities for advancement. Zorana Sadiq is the faithful wife/sister who must satisfy her brother/husband’s lust and find a way to get rid of Thetis.

The cast of Armadillos. Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh

Paolo Santalucia as Peleus looks heroic and as a mortal displays great respect for the divinities. Those who recall the opening line of The Iliad know that Peleus is described as the father of Achilles, the greatest hero of the Greeks. Thetis is his mother and she held him by his Achilles heel when she dipped him in the River Styx to give him supernatural power. Forget that myth. The alternative story tells of Thetis being raped by Peleus, another image of male domination and abominable treatment of women.

In the second act, we see the actors who played in the Greek myth socializing after a performance. Jay who played Zeus is a maladjusted man awkwardly reaching out to Sofia (Hera) who is uncertain about men. They seem to be making progress until Jay dumps her in a bar when he gets a text message with an offer of sex. Dyrk (Peleus) drinks too much, takes drugs and tries to seduce or actually seduces Karmyne (Thetis) and ends up sleeping in the park. 

Gods and men may be pigs but the play does not get us anywhere. The acting  is reasonably good but the art of enunciation is not practiced by all the actors. Do they not teach enunciation, even elocution in acting schools?

Trevor Schwellnus’s set consists of three arched doors and a few props like seats and a table. With accept that the lighting represents Mount Olympus and as the back of the stage where the actors in the mythical play meet.

Director Jani Lauzon gets us through the text but that is not enough to make it a night at the theatre.     

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Armadillos by Colleen Wagner, directed by Jani Lauzon, opened on June 8 and will run until June 24, 2023 at the Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, Toronto, Ontario. www.factorytheatre.ca/