Some background information on the play: It's a one-woman show, written and performed by Debbie Patterson (and directed by her husband, Arne MacPherson). Patterson, who has multiple sclerosis, plays a number of different characters congregating around a food bank near the West End cross-street of Sargent and Victor.
The play centres around Gillian, a woman based on Patterson. Gillian is bitter about having MS, and spends a lot of time reminiscing about what the disease has cost her. Along the way we meet a pastor, two senior citizens, a 7-year-old-girl, and Gillian's brother Bob, all played by Patterson. We also meet a 15-year-old aboriginal girl named Theresa, who is a member of the 'Gangster Crips'.
Patterson uses the setting of the food bank to explore different attitudes surrounding the beat up West End neighbourhood. Not surprisingly, most of these attitudes are negative. The people there either feel persecuted unfairly by the police (Bob), they're giving away chocolate to volunteers but not the no-good-homeless-folks (Fred), they're incredibly racist and old-fashioned (the senior citizens Tom and Sharon), or they're a seven-year-old that somehow manages to come off as bitchy.
I was repulsed by all of these characters. They had few, if any redeeming qualities. I don't say this as a criticism. The fact that Patterson was able to fully inhabit all of these persona's and get me to hate them was remarkable.
In an interview I read before seeing the play, Patterson says that she was trying to use her MS as a metaphor for the decline of the neighbourhood in which the play is set. While this is effective, I found the moral decay of her characters to be a better parallel for the neighbourhoods struggles. Maybe it's not the aboriginals or the child gangs or the crooked cops that's ruining the West End. Maybe it's the cynicism and hatred spewing from the "good" residents that's the problem.
The most interesting character in the play is definitely the 15-year-old Theresa. Theresa was raped, beaten, left for dead more than once. She lived with a mother who sniffed gas instead of collecting welfare to feed her children. Theresa became addicted to drugs and fell into a gang.
While on the surface, this type of person might seem to be the problem in an impoverished neighbourhood, Theresa is the only character that displays any redeeming qualities. She shows compassion to Gillian, helping her up off the concrete in a moment of need. We hear about the mistakes that she's made, but we see why she's made them. She's a fully developed, complex character, but her and "her kind" are painted out to be nothing more than lazy gangbangers.
The juxtaposition between Theresa and her neighbours works beautifully to illustrate Patterson's point that there's more to people than what one see's on the surface.
The only problem I had with the play was with those other people. They're presented in only one dimension, as ugly, racist, vile people. They're painted with black hats. In a play that seems to tell us that people are complex and we don't know their entire story, I felt as though these characters were too one-dimensional. Patterson writes that we all have broken minds or broken bodies — her characters seem to have broken souls.
While I've seen tons of plays over the years, this was the first time I've ever been to a one-person play. I was expecting little-to-no movement, basically a series of monologues that would be broken up noticeably. I was pleasantly surprised when the play started. Patterson makes seamless transitions from character to character without missing a beat. In order to keep the audience aware of who exactly is speaking, Patterson uses distinctive mannerisms and voices to clue us in, and the lighting changes depending on the character were wonderfully done.
I've never thought much about the West End. When I hear news stories about shootings or gang violence in that area it doesn't phase me. I expect that from the area. I had my eyes opened up a bit, because I could relate to what some of the characters that repulsed me were saying. I might never make some of their statements out loud, but I can't say I haven't thought them before. I felt ashamed, especially after hearing Theresa's story.
I really enjoyed this play, even if it made me feel uncomfortable at times. It's an unflinching look at attitudes towards poverty, and manages to use a number of beautiful metaphors to express that.
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