Review: ‘The Water Gun Song’ at Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre
Joe Szekeres, Supervisory Toronto Critic
Thank you, Young People’s Theatre, for beginning this extremely important conversation and dialogue with the streaming of the Canadian online premiere of ‘The Water Gun Song’ by Idris Goodwin. For me, I’m hoping this one act is the start of potential change, healing and reparation.
I just wished the sound was better as I missed some important dialogue initially and I had to go back, watch, and listen again a few times to ensure that I understood the intent behind the story. Even at the second viewing and pausing to listen again, I didn’t catch some of the dialogue. For example, there were very loud dings of a cell phone received messages which brought me right out of the moment where I was engrossed in the conversation between father and son. As well, I couldn’t hear the name of Cindy’s cat (and I couldn’t tell if this is the name of Sam’s friend or not). I had trouble in finally connecting what I knew was the name of the cat after repeated stopping and starting. That was a shame this all occurred.
For Director Natasha Mumba, she spoke at the Q and A about preservation. Preservation, in this case, meaning that young seven-year-old wide eyed Sam (bravely and gallantly played by Myles Hanchard who) does not lose his innocence in the joy of being a child while having to understand the challenges that a parent faces with the connotations that stem from a black person holding a toy gun in hand.
This approximately twenty-minute streamed play walked a fine line between loss of innocence versus hard realistic truth about racial tensions at the present moment in which we find ourselves currently; however, ‘The Water Gun Song’ forced me to see how “race contextualizes decisions we make” as playwright Idris Goodwin explained in the Q and A following the presentation.
We meet Sam’s ‘busy’ father (dynamite work by Kevin Hanchard) who wants his son to enjoy playing with his unseen friend, Cindy. Natasha Mumba obviously knew of the inherent chemistry and bond between real life father and son, and it was a joy to watch this pair just be themselves with each other. I especially liked the playful mugging father and son did to the camera when Sam asks about getting a nun chuck. To me, it appeared this real-life father and son were really enjoying that moment.
Kevin Hanchard made an extremely important comment at the Q and A about the role of the father for Sam. The complexities involved not only in word choice but its delivery to a seven-year-old to ensure comprehension is no easy task whatsoever. This father wants to ensure that his son enjoys the bliss of childhood innocence and play and not feel frightened. Yet this father must also start to give his son the tools he will need to be able to survive in this world. Mr. Hanchard strong on camera presence combined with proper pausing and pacing added with a dash of a deep parental love and bond ensured a caring father who is ultimately looking out for the best interests of his son.
‘The Water Gun Song’ becomes a possible starting point to begin that discussion with all young people about racial tension. Given the fact theatres are currently closed, this streamed presentation allows us to enter this world and see things from both a child’s and adult’s point of view.
I hope YPT might consider placing this production on one of its slates in the future when it’s safe for all of us to return to the theatre. To see it live would add anther dimension of understanding.
To view the presentation, click here: https://youtu.be/7IeMy0DuCJU
To learn more about Toronto’s Young People’s Theatre, visit www.youngpeoplestheatre.org.