What Would Emma Goldman Do
Kelly Stifora | for CBC News | Posted: July 23, 2017 5:00 PM | Last Updated: July 23, 2017
Show sinks after all the characters reveal themselves to be unlikable
Rating: ★★
Company: ZList Productions
Genre: Play - Dramedy
Venue: 6 — Tom Hendry Warehouse
This sneering murder farce didn't leave me wondering what Emma Goldman would do so much as why she would bother with these people at all.
Deejay Dayton's ambitious script packs a lot of ideas into a Pinteresque plot concerning the sordid goings-on between an anarchist, a philanthropist, an alt-right publisher and an ex-con on New Year's Eve 2016.
Unfortunately, the characters representing those ideas are more Mametesque and frequently interrupt the proceedings to deliver vitriolic diatribes or otherwise render themselves less likable. By the time we know what's happened, all are revealed to be hate-filled and duplicitous.
If you love Abel Ferrara or Greg Araki movies or think Kevin Spacey should play every role, all of the time, then this might be the play for you.
This sneering murder farce didn't leave me wondering what Emma Goldman would do so much as why she would bother with these people at all. - Kelly Stifora
For me, it felt like the theatrical equivalent of watching someone smash a bunch of toys together, and then light them on fire.