Toronto Review: Canadian Premiere of 'OIL' drills deep into ARC
· Joe Szekeres, Chief Toronto Critic
To look at the promotional photo for ARC’s production of Ella Hickson’s ‘Oil’ made me do a double take. At a quick first look, I saw bird talon and claws drenched in oil. A second closer look revealed two hands intertwined which have been just dipped into oil. It looks as if the oil is just about to drip from the second, third and fourth fingers.
If anything, the promotional photo is highly effective as I couldn’t stop looking at it for a few minutes.
Oh, did I also say this Canadian premiere is one helluva bold and riveting production with enthralling performances? It most definitely is and I’m telling future audiences right now to book tickets for ‘Oil’ as soon as you can. I had my notebook to make notes during this opening night but kept it closed as I wanted this truly theatrical experience to remain with me for as long as possible.
‘Oil’ spans almost one hundred and fifty years from 1889 – 2051. Central character May (a divine Bahareh Yaraghi) travels throughout time. We first meet her in 1889 as a farmer’s wife expecting a child. May and her husband Joss (Cyrus Lane) live with her mother in law (Deborah Drakeford) and relatives in a tightly cramped farmhouse in Cornwall with acres and acres of land to till. A salesman shows up one cold night to introduce a kerosene lamp to the entire family. May is fascinated by this kerosene lamp. Next, we see May when she is a maid in 1908 Tehran where the British are keen to utilize all of Persia’s natural resources. We then meet May in 1970 Hampstead where she is the CEO of an international oil company which has been threatened by Libya who will nationalise their assets. Not only does May have to contend with this pressure, but also must deal with her mouthy, lippy teenage daughter Amy (dynamite work from Samantha Brown). Act Two takes us five years into the future of 2025 with the final scene in 2051. I don’t want to spoil here where these years take May and Amy.
I loved the crispness in Ms. Hickson’s script both in dialogue and in the pacing of the production. Jackie Chau’s set and costume designs nicely evoked the various eras of the story. What I found rather effective was the appearance of oil dripping from the top of the back wall. Oil drums were used as part of the furnishings within the various settings. Visual projections on the back wall also helped in the translation of the dialogue from Farsi to English. Kudos to Maddie Bautista’s sound design especially in the first scene as Mary’s husband, Joss, appears to be cutting wood and the sound is perfectly timed with Cyrus Lane’s actions and movement.
Co-directors Aviva Armour-Ostroff and Christopher Stanton have daringly and creatively envisioned a world where fascination with a commodity (like oil) might produce riches but will most assuredly be destructive. ‘Oil’ is a story of female empowerment but also deals with the horrors of colonialism, complexities of familial relationships, sex and maturity. But when you cast this play so incredibly well as Ms. Armour-Ostroff and Mr. Stanton have done, you have the makings of incredibly powerful theatre.
Ms. Yaraghi and Ms. Brown create a genuinely realistic and tumultuous relationship as mother and daughter. I liked their moments together in the second scene in Tehran. Ms. Brown nicely plays at times the humour of the young Amy as she hides under the table. That humour and laughter, however, is short lived.
And what a marvelous supporting cast who play other roles of similar like characters who gamely reflect the intensity level already established. Deborah Drakeford is a tough as nails, stern, mother-in-law, Ma Singer. The feeling of contempt in the first scene between Ms. Yaraghi and Ms. Drakeford is so thickly palpable and dynamic. Great stuff here.
Cyrus Lane is strapping, devoted husband Joss and soon to be father who frighteningly shows us another side in his character. Ryan Hollyman becomes a roguish Thomas in the second scene who, like Mr. Lane, shows us a frightening side to his character where I was silently rooting for May and Amy to get out of that situation. Courtenay Stevens’ drug addicted and stupid dummy of a boyfriend, Nate, to Amy offered a comically nuanced juxtaposition to the conflict existing between mother and daughter.
As William Whitcomb, a salesman/pedlar who shows up on the doorstep of the home in the first scene to espouse the values of kerosene, Nabil Traboulsi becomes that strong impetus for change which alters the dynamics of the upcoming events. The same exists when he also plays oil tycoon Mr. Farouk who alters the destiny of events between mother and daughter. Shadi Shahkhalili becomes a gutsy and forthright Aminah who wisely advises the older Amy to go home with her mother. Without spoiling the last scene of the play which took me by surprise, Lily Gao as Fan Wang strongly reminded me that while years may have gone by, some things about human nature never really change.
FINAL COMMENT: This outstanding production of ‘Oil’ concludes with a markedly important comment projected on the wall at the end of the show. Even though our Canadian federal ministers have worked so hard in the continued and on going reconciliation of the Indigenous people of Canada, it was the very issue of oil and the pipeline out west which altered the state of life Canadians have grown to appreciate.
A compellingly influential production.
The performance runs approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.
Photo of Nabil Traboulsi and Bahareh Yaraghi courtesy of Nicholas Porteous
OIL by Ella Hickson
Runs to March 21 at ARC, Geary Lane, 360 Geary Avenue, Toronto. For tickets, visit http://arcstage.com/project/oil-2020/.
Co-directors: Aviva Armour-Ostroff and Christopher Stanton; Stage Manager/Assistant Director: Tamara Vuckovic; Sound Designer: Maddie Bautista; Lighting Designer: Nicholas Blais; Set and Costume Designer: Jackie Chau; Video Designer: Melissa Joakim; Technical Director: Matteo Desimone; Production Manager: Crystal Lee;
Performed by Samantha Brown, Deborah Drakeford, Lily Gao, Ryan Hollyman, Cyrus Lane, Shadi Shahkhalili, Courtenay Stevens, Nabil Traboulsi, Bahareh Yaraghi.