a

 

Culture

 

Skylight

At the Van-
couver Play-
house

Running to
February 20

-Jones

Blessed with a-strong
premise, interesting charac-
ters, and one of the loveliest
sets I've seen yet, the current
production of Skylight should
be a tug-o-war of heart and
mind. Heart, unfortunately,
didn’t seem to have eaten its
Wheaties, and refused to even
touch the rope. I really
wanted to fully enjoy David
Hare's tale of past infidelities
and debate-riddled attempts
at reconciliation. I just wish
that the delivery hadn’t been
so emotionally unengaging.

This is an intelligent
exploration of two strong-
willed people stuck in the
fallout from a years-long
affair, a death, and warring
ideologies, who happen to
still be in love (angry, sepa-
rated, and rather bitter, but
in love nonetheless). So why
didn’t the stinky, steamy
messiness come across?

All three actors suffered
at crucial points from the
dread “Hey, that’s not a
spontaneous refutation of
his/her biting remark, that's
just a line” disease, empha-
sized by rushed pauses,
leaving no time for the
arguments to sink in.

Gina Wilkinson as Kyra
played her leftist-lifestyle-
upper-class-upbringing-
emotionally-pretzeled-but-
struggling-to-grow-beyond-it
former flame as brusque,
brittle, and overly huffy right

 

from the start. Which could
have worked if there had
been some development
beyond her initially gruff
standpoint, but with the
exception of some welcome
comedic moments, a some-
what forced brush with tears,
and the surprisingly delight-
ful final scene, Wilkinson
spent most of her time
barking defensively. Which,
to be fair, could be somewhat
justified by the territorial
invasion of her East End flat
by ex-employer/ex-lover Tom,
and his son Edward, but a
wider range of reactions may
have been more convincing.

Terence Kelly, as Tom,
had some of the best zingers
in the script, and delivered
these beautifully, but his few
“just a line” moments jarred
all the more in his otherwise
strong performance. Haig
Sutherland’s Edward, serving
more as an introductory
catalyst for the other two
debaters rather than a fully
fledged world ‘o’ pain of his
own, was for the most part
refreshingly light, although
he too had a couple of false
moments.

Then again, who knows,
I could be missing something.
Maybe director Bill Dow is
shooting for some crazy post-
modernist theatrical self-
awareness thing. Maybe it’s
an experiment in timing. I
dunno, but I found it odd
that everybody did the same
thing. Go figure.

Ach. So it didn’t push
all my buttons. So the second
act had me zoning out
periodically. It’s still better
than most of the crap on TV.
Besides, how often does one
get to see props eaten
onstage?

 

 

 

 

If youre
concerned
about the

Year 2000

me Coy Melt sd

No one has

all the answers.

But we can help.

Your computer

When the year 2000 rolls around, your
personal computer could get confused.
It could start to read the year 2000 as
the year 1900. Essentially, that’s the
Millennium Bug. Lots of other electronic
devices could catch it too, but your
computer is the most vulnerable.
Hardware, software, operating systems,
data — all could be affected. So could
printers, modems, and scanners. We
can show you how to test your computer
for possible Year 2000 difficulties. And
we can help you to find out which
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Your finances

Canada’s banks, other deposit-taking
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such as VISA, MasterCard, and the
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technology fully prepared. They are
developing back-up systems and contin-
gency plans to deal with any unforeseen
events. If you have questions, you
should contact your financial institution.

Your household appliances

You probably don’t have to worry about
your appliances. The Bug will hit only
those that depend on dates to work
properly. If you can unplug an appliance
and then turn it back on without
having to reset anything, it should be OK.

None of your equipment should
stop working altogether. But timing
devices could be a problem on some
VCRs, fax machines, security alarms,
digital thermostats, answering machines,
and video and digital cameras. We can
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supplied by appliance retailers and
manufacturers.

Your car

Manufacturers say it is highly unlikely
that the Bug will cause car problems.
We can show you what several of the
major car manufacturers have to say
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Don’t wait until you have a problem
to begin finding out about the Year
2000 Bug. Start now! Watch for
the Millennium Bug Homecheck
guide in your mailbox. For more
information call:

1-800-270-8220
TTY: 1-800-465-7735
Or visit us at:
www.canada.gc.ca

ivi

Canada

  

 

 

 

 

the Other Press February 17 1999

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