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by Matthew Sarookanian, directed by Joanne Williams

Twisted Chaos Productions, Toronto Fringe Festival, Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace, Toronto

July 5-15, 2012

“Then He Tries to Stay Awake”

Then He Wakes Up is like a blending of Edward Albee’s The Zoo Story (1959) and Luigi Pirandello’s Sogno (ma forse no) (1931) with a lot of water and served lukewarm.  At only 40 minutes it outstays its welcome since we soon realize that the play is not going anywhere even when playwright Matthew Sarookanian introduces new characters.

We first meet Felix (Sarookanian), a geeky-looking young guy who is standing at a bus stop seemingly waiting for a bus.  In fact, he is waiting for the arrival of an accountant Henry (Jordan Mechano), who is anxious to get to the office to fix an error he made before anyone discovers it.  Henry is creeped out by Felix, who claims that they must become friends or else Henry will kill him because, contrary to fact, friends don’t kill each other.  Felix not only knows Henry’s name, but Henry’s wife’s name and, apparently, can predict everything Henry will do next.  As we discover early on, Felix knows all this because he has dreamed the same scene over and over.  Does Henry exist solely in Felix’s imagination or does the dream merely give Felix foreknowledge of what will happen?

This is a puzzle that becomes more intriguing once a a woman, Daisy (Perrie Olthuis), enters and begins to treat Felix in the same way he treated Henry.  Whose reality is inside whose?

Sarookanian’s is quite an unpretentious play, but he still faces the problem that this kind of situation is not new and has been featured in episodes of nearly every sci-fi or fantasy show.  Sarookanian has no new twist to apply to this set-up and the one he uses to resolve the case is unsatisfying.  Sarookanian says he admires writers like Albee and Ionesco, but the advantage their plays have is the combination of humour with mounting tension.  Sarookanian’s play, unfortunately has neither.  If we were intrigued by the premise at the start, he manages to lose our interest by the end.

Given that the dialogue is mundane rather than witty, intense performances might help put the play across.  As Felix, Sarookanian manages to be ordinary and mysterious at the same time.  Mechano does not establish the fussiness of the regimented life Henry leads very well and he is not good as carefully gradating his expressions of frustration with Felix, which could be the main of humour in the play.  Mechano is most believable when he suddenly takes on a childish persona near the end of the play.  Of the three, Olthuis shows the greatest confidence on stage and quite easily puts Sarookanian and Mechano, along with their characters, in their places.  She’s the perfect embodiment of a smiling enigma. 

I’m interested in the recent rise of neo-absurdism and am happy to see younger authors working in the genre.  Sarookanian needs to free himself of his models and explore his ideas more freely.  In dialogue, his exchanges are too generic.  Specific details can often communicate large ideas more clearly than generalities.  In any case, I’m curious to see what Sarookanian writes next.          

©Christopher Hoile

Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.

Photo: Matthew Sarookanian. ©2012 Jordan Mechano.

For tickets, visit http://fringetoronto.com.