February 11th, 2013
Tremblay's ->-bleeped-<-
TNC's Hosanna's minimalist existentialism
http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2013/02/tremblays-->-bleeped-<-/Set in early 1970s Montreal, Michel Tremblay's Hosanna explores issues of identity and self-definition through the eyes of self-identified ->-bleeped-<- Hosanna, and her boyfriend Cuirette. Hosanna is confused – "I'm neither a man nor a woman," she says – and Cuirette see-saws from supportive to exasperated. Director Scott Leydon's production at Tuesday Night Cafés an expansive gay/trans* depiction, forgoing a narrow introspective focus and tackling complicated issues both personal and interpersonal, examining the ways in which the individual and their surroundings influence one another. Hosanna's existentialism explores many axes, looking at gender and sexuality as well as the difficulties of aging, dealing with unemployment, and mending strained family ties. Leydon's production, solidly minimalist and supported by the cast's assurance and measured delivery, successfully depicts the relations between authenticity and performance.
The play unfolds late at night in Hosanna's apartment. Hosanna, costumed as Elizabeth Taylor and fresh from social humiliation, returns from a rival drag queen's Halloween party. Cuirette arrives shortly afterward, joining her in a long and often quarrelsome discussion, occasionally broken up by his own tangential rants. Hosanna takes centre stage for most of the second act, straddling a chair, emulating this physical barrier between her and the audience by recounting a detailed version of her success at the party – which turns out to be a deceitful fantasy – before backtracking and telling the audience how the evening actually unfolded.
