Thunderfoot
Sarah Broadfoot | for CBC News | Posted: July 22, 2017 2:49 PM | Last Updated: July 23, 2017
Playwright and actor Aaron Malkin conjurs up fantastical stories to explain his mother’s disappearance
Rating: ★★★★
Company: Life & Depth
Genre: Play - Comedy
Venue: 12 — Asper Centre for Theatre & Film
How can a four-year-old cope when his mother vanishes from his life and no one tells him why? Playwright and actor Aaron Malkin dealt with his hurt and confusion by conjuring up fantastical stories to explain his mother's disappearance. His young, tender soul proposed many theories, including "what if a giant is involved?"
This one-man autobiographical fairy tale takes a peek into Malkin's young mind and explores what the answer to that question might look like. Inhabiting several different characters, Malkin deftly weaves his way through this imaginary world with superb miming, singing and sound effect skills. No props are necessary, thanks to Malkin's extraordinary physicality.
Malkin deftly weaves his way through this imaginary world with superb miming, singing and sound effect skills. - Sarah Broadfoot
The only place where the performance weakens is in the execution of audience participation. It adds nothing particularly significant to the production, and it forces Malkin to break character, thus interrupting the flow of the story.