Picnics at the Asylum
Bradley Sawatzky | for CBC News | Posted: July 20, 2017 4:46 PM | Last Updated: July 20, 2017
One-woman show highlights vulnerability and humanity as an artist and as a human being
Rating: ★★★★
Company: Stella Productions
Genre: Play - Dramedy
Venue: 2 - MTC Up The Alley
Angela L. Neff takes us through a whirlwind tour of memory, pinballing all over her childhood. And this is a smart and engaging way for us see and feel through her experience. We all learn about our parents as we grow, but she shares with us her learning about a parent struggling with sanity.
One-person shows with multiple characters can go off the rails so easily. There were moments where the myriad collection of roles bordered on caricature, specifically with the siblings. But this manic flow between recollections/songs/characters were grounded in the pockets of hush, when Angela slowed it down and her stillness and quiet rooted her and us deeply in her story.
We all learn about our parents as we grow, but she shares with us her learning about a parent struggling with sanity. - Bradley Sawatzky
And this is a hell of a story.
The vulnerability and humanity she shows as an artist and as a human being is a gift.