issue 24 // vol 44

> Intimate, diverse stories weave together in classic Canadian play

Caroline Ho
Arts Editor

 

Le in the Streets sweeps
audiences along in an emotionally
tumultuous adventure of intertwining
stories and deeply-buried truths.

The latest production from the
Departments of Theatre and Stagecraft
& Event Technology, written by Judith
Thompson and directed by Claire Fogal,
opened on March 16. Lion in the Streets
tells a colourful ensemble of stories,
and at the play’s heart is nine-year-
old Isobel, a First Nations girl adopted
into a Portuguese family, on a quest
to discover what has happened to her.
Along her search for truth, she uncovers
a myriad of other secrets—forgotten,
repressed, and tucked out of sight.

The play boasts an impressive
array of characters, with many of its
13 student and alumni actors playing
multiple roles over the course of
the show. With the exception of
the indomitable Isobel, a lot of the
characters appear in only one or two
scenes, yet their limited moments on
stage are enough to intimately introduce
audiences to their circumstances and
build up the audience’s emotional
investment into their personal struggles.

There’s Sue, for example, the weary
wife and mother who wishes to keep
her family together. There’s Joanne,
who conceals beneath her pragmatism
a hopelessly, tragically picturesque
wish. There’s Rodney, the research
assistant haunted by an overbearing
boss and the tantalizing, turbulent
memories of a childhood friend. These
characters along with the others in the
play, composed though they seem from

the outside, struggle
to confront their inner demons.
Thompson’s script masterfully
weaves together these many personal
scenes, letting each of them linger long
enough to truly touch the audience
before transitioning seamlessly to
another story. Separately, the tales
all have their own charm; taken
as a whole, with Isobel’s character
flowing through each, they’re a
mosaic of what it means to be alive.
The play also manages to balance
absurd hilarity and moments of raw
trauma, with just enough magical
realism to make it work. Some scenes

in the play are

completely comical, even though the
material they grapple with should be
sombre. Other scenes are utterly and
agonizingly horrific, as characters face
situations that are embarrassing or
downright heart-wrenching. However,
the play’s ambience of faint surrealism
allows its moments of absurdity to
reach full hilarity, while also allowing
these moments to intermingle and
overlap with periods of solemnity.

The score of Lion in the Streets
uses exclusively Canadian music, which
enhances the play’s local and national
familiarity. From Inuk throat singer

Phe Rw AA CO

 

of stories worth telling. Isobel’s quest
reaches the heart of issues that are
direly in need of examining and
bringing to light—coming to terms
with trauma and abuse, acknowledging
the darker realities of humanity, and
reconciling the broader disconnect
between who we think we are and who
we believe were supposed to be.

Chairman of the Board: It’s f*1ng SCIENCE!

> ‘Munchkin: Rick and Morty’ card game review

Ed Appleby
Senior Columnist

kkeknky

N@s is a fascinating thing. When
you accept that the world is just big
and uncaring and that nothing you do
has any meaning or effect on this cold
world, it means you have to take the
simple hedonistic joys where you can,

 

even if it means turning your friends and

families into viscous piles of space snot.
Munchkin: Rick and Morty
(2017) is a PVP game for three to six
people designed by Casey Sershon and
published by USAopoly/Steve Jackson
Games. In the game, players take
the roles of characters from the Rick
and Morty cartoon as they adventure
through the universe, kicking in doors

and fighting monsters. Other players can

help or hinder as you take on all kinds
of creatures from Amish Cyborgs to
Evil Morty. Victories increase your level
and gain you treasures, while defeats
have all sorts of nasty repercussions.
The first player to reach level 10 wins.

I reviewed Munchkin (2001) a

few years ago, so I’m going to focus on
what’s different—and, in my opinion,
better—with this version. First of all,
this version is absolutely brutal! Traps
are much more frequent and can have
devastating effects, including losing
large amounts of your treasure, being
unable to help or be helped until you
go up in level, or being affected by the
last two traps that were in play. There
were many moments where I felt like
I wasn't just playing against the other
players, but the game itself as well.

There is also a sharp increase
in complexity with this version. Players
start out with random character cards
that already add rules specific to each
player, and the effect of equipment
can change if it is paired with certain
classes, allies, or other equipment.
The new allies can add their own
effects to the game, and one-off cards
can add huge unexpected bonuses
to either you or the monster.

There is also a much higher
level of randomness in this version
compared to other versions of
Munchkin—some classes have you
trying to predict dice outcomes for
combat bonuses, while others have

 

you trying to rhyme in order to boost
the effectiveness of one-off cards.
This version also introduces a new
type of creature called a parasite,
whose strength is randomized.

I would highly recommend
Munchkin: Rick and Morty to any

fan of Rick and Morty, or any fan of
Munchkin. As to how a non-Rick
and Morty fan would respond to the
game, let’s just say I have watched

a grand total of two episodes and I
thought the game was great—even
though I didn’t get all of the jokes.

Photo of Scalato and Isobel by Dahlia Kerr

Illustration by Ed Appleby