Sees Hee 5 RSS Bee Moe AS 1a cme rm, SS a ene ey ye ST Nov.19-Dec.12/98 At The Playhouse Hamilton and Dunsmuir, Vancouver JONES ang on just one minute. Here am I, reading a & great pile of press info, all of which seems to impart the impression that Billy Bishop hasn't been re-mounted in I6 years. Why? I mean, apart from the probability of amateur produc- tions, how in the heck could all the scrambling professional com- panies out there have kept their necessarily profit hungry paws off a script this tight? 16 years! I can only roll my eyes, and thank my Lucky Charms that this tour coincided with my new-found theatre addiction. Even better, this is the reunion of the original co-creators and stars of Billy Bishop, writer/ direc- tor/actor John Gray and actor/director Eric Peterson. This is the baby that they toured for four years straight, from November 1978 at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, across Canada twice, down to the States, across to Scotland, England, Berlin, and back; that was pub- lished by Talon Books, and finally broadcast on the BBC and CBC- TV on September 12, 1982. The decades have aged the show well, as Gray and Peterson have imbued the material with more maturity, taking a reminiscent turn in the reflections of Bishop. Peterson's performance ts a non-stop delight, from his open- ing address as the fatherly veteran _ Billy Bishop Goes “Inspiring anew generation of sol- diers (perfectly illusory in several rows of empty black chairs), to his youth as a cadet, cavalry man, and almost accidental flying ace. He also plays most of the other characters, all strong, distinct, and pissingly funny, my favourite being Bishop's disdainful ‘patroness, the uppercrust hero maker. The set was a many partitioned playground for the multiple inci- dents recalled; with a particularly striking half-oval frame around the raised rear platform. Said frame made me think of a flight, a crash, or a deviled egg with cayenne pepper. John Gray's piano radiated music and solidity, both physical- ly and thematically, as Peterson's Bishop and Assorted Characters kept returning to the instrument's foot and Gray's chorus of ...it did- n't seem like war at all... Many props doubled as special F/X, from the flag swirled into a silence as abrupt as engine failure, to the flown bi-plane. cut-out dangling behind an energetic Peterson hoisted in stirrups and harness high above the stage, to the whine of ramp hydraulics grudgingly elevating Bishop to the shaky heights of the Royal Flying Corps. Much of the sound work was provided by the actors themselves, either sung, played, drummed, raspberried, or machine gun ack- acked. The only amplification was on Gray's vocals, which was off- putting. I preferred the natural projection of Peterson's voice, and frequently found the speakered boost of Gray's vocals overpower- ing. The one comedic moment for the audio kick in the second act was good ‘n’ funny, but that was the only spot where it seemed fully justified. The only other nose-wrinkle was caused by one glitch in the lighting. In the aero- drome raid, the gun flashes didn’t keep up with Peterson's ack-acks, leaving me questioning the speed of light as compared to the speed of the human mouth. And finally, the loveliest effect was created by a series of cameo projections on the darkened back- drop. Silver toned photographs of painfully young soldiers, most of them in their early to mid teens, all of them killed before my grandmother was born, bloomed and faded to the refrain of England preferring her heroes ..cold and dead... This was one of the most openly poignant, regret- filled notes in a show that other- wise deals with the ironic glories, and glorious ironies of war. Billy (not a bishop) goes to war (against the voices in his head) # Nearly as decorated with awards as the war hero it portrays, Billy Bishop qualifies as one of those alarming creatures, a Canadian Classic. This is not, I repeat, not a bad word. Or couple of words, even. This is a wonder- fully entertaining, strongly per- formed, hilariously expository chunk of Canadian history brought refreshingly to life. Not politically correct, just very well done. me he Ue me RE T3220 RE eb Another ‘exciting’ \ holiday weekend? Don't make flying home any more painful than it already is. Here at WestJet, your low-fare leader, we can sympathize with you and your traveling woes. So the least we can do is offer you a great fare on a hassle-free flight. ‘Cause we know you'll have your fair share of hassles when you get home. Just book by December 5, 1998 and fly up until December 17, 1998 and/or from January 5 to 10, 1999. : This offer is also available for travel on December 31, 1998 and January 1, 1999! Valid Student I.D. is required. 4 Offer suiject to availability. Taxes extra. ]00%s non-refundable. Must provide valid student |.D. card at ume of booking and flying WestJet. Low Fares Today, Tomorrow, Everywhere We Fly. VV se ae FROM FROM ONE WAY TO S ONE WAY TO REGINA & WINNIPEG SASKATOON ONE WAY TO EDMONTON, CALGARY & KELOWNA/ OKANAGAN VALLEY Page 6 November 25 1998 The Other Press