Lantern Town
Joff Schmidt | CBC News | Posted: July 17, 2016 3:20 AM | Last Updated: July 17, 2016
FOUR STARS | A bittersweet drama about letting go — of friends, of family, of home
Rating: ★★★★
Company: Make/Shift Theatre, Winnipeg
Genre: Play — Drama
Venue: 3 — The Playhouse Studio
The swamp that surrounds Lantern Town, the setting for this new play from local company Make/Shift, is an apt metaphor for the story here. It's dense and often murky, but there's a lot going on under the surface.
Set in an unspecified swampy locale (somewhere in the southern U.S., judging from the somewhat questionable accents), this is a memory play narrated by Esmerelda (Brittany Thiessen). She and her pal Klippe (Liam Zarrillo) grow up hearing tales of a swamp monster called Vinemouth — but it's possible what's really to be feared is closer to home.
It's bittersweet, and a surprisingly mature and well-written piece from such a young company. - Joff Schmidt
The script by Kristian Jordan (who rounds out the cast) is a bittersweet drama about letting go — of friends, of family, of home. It's got a few clichéd strokes (Jordan's pipe chewin', wise old porch-sittin' grandpa is one), but it's a surprisingly mature and well-written piece from such a young company.
Bright lights on the local theatre scene, and a drama worth seeking out.