Friday, November 14, 2008

Banana Boys - The Play

Went to Hart House Theatre tonight to see a play by Leon Aureus based on the novel Banana Boys by Terry Woo. I know the author slightly and had read the book, so I was interested to see how it translated into live theatre. The results were mixed. Although a great novel, it doesn't lend itself very well to story telling on stage. The playwright and director got around this by introducing elements of 1970s style collective creation giving the actors authorship of their work. The resulting blocking was quite powerful at times. Is being CBC (Canadian Born Chinese) as relevant now as it was 8-10 years ago? I'm sure I can't answer that question, but according to the playwright's notes, times are a-changing. I'm glad I saw it, and wish the playwright and author continued success.

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