The Centaur has really struck gold with their production of Assorted Candies by Michel Tremblay. The casting couldn’t be better and the acting is superb; it’s a fantastic show from start to finish.
Much of the success of Assorted Candies can be attributed to Tremblay’s masterful way with words. The characters in this play speak with such honesty one can hardly believe their text is scripted. Tremblay’s characters seem like real people who are just living out their lives on stage. The audience feels privileged to sit in and listen.
Of course, some of the praise for this successful production must also go to the hugely talented actors working under Serge Denoncourt’s direction.
As is the case with many Tremblay pieces, the women carry most of the action in Assorted Candies. Lally Cadeau, Leni Parker and Clare Schapiro are a powerful trio and a dream to watch. Playing Tremblay’s mother, grandmother and aunt, they are the three influential women in the young boy’s life. Much of the play focuses on their conversations and activities within the household.
Tremblay, a boy of 6, spends all of his time under the kitchen table listening to these women talk about everything under the sun. The women sometimes forget the boy is there, and their talk gets animated and uncensored at times.
All three women have incredible comic timing and the audience is in stitches with every monologue they give or side comment they make. The actors in this play will have you crying, though, just as quickly as they will make you laugh – a true sign of a great performer and a great script.
Having Centaur Artistic Director Gordon McCall play the 6-year old Tremblay was an interesting choice. Though it may seem strange at first, the audience quickly accepts this theatrical convention because of the commitment shown by McCall and his fellow actors. One almost forgets there is a grown-up, bearded man on stage instead of a young boy. McCall captures the innocence of Tremblay’s character and his co-actors seem comfortable working with him in this role.
The play follows the Tremblay family from day-to-day life to their preparation for Christmas. Comic situations are heightened as the entire family stresses over the many details involved in holiday planning.
When the show was over one member of the audience asked another, “Now, was that Christmas in your house? It’s sure like that in ours!”
Perhaps that is Tremblay’s greatest triumph with Assorted Candies, and many of his other plays. He manages to touch so many people on such a personal level. The intricacies of his characters come directly from observations he made about his own family when he was younger. Because his inspiration was so real, the audience can easily find resemblances between Tremblay’s characters and themselves.
We go to the theatre not only to be entertained, but to see reflections of ourselves. Tremblay invokes a wide range of emotions with his play Assorted Candies, and that’s because we can all watch and say “That’s me. I know how that feels.”
Assorted Candies is on at the Centaur Theatre until Dec.3
For tickets call: 514.288.3161
