Reviews: Sleuth at Harbourfront, Monks at the Tarragon

Hallelujah: there’s theatre south of the Gardiner Expressway again.

First came Dancer (A Musical in Ten Furlongs) at the Terminal Theatre, which I reviewed a few posts ago. And now there’s Sleuth (Rating: ✭✭✭✭), the first in the new Shaw Festival at Harbourfront Centre series of productions that originated at the Niagara-on-the-Lake festival earlier in the season.**

**The other offerings in the series are A Christmas Carol, which plays Nov. 12 to Dec. 23, and Ohio State Murders, which plays Jan. 22 to Feb. 21. I’m especially excited about the latter, directed by Philip Akin and starring Sophia Walker, because it was a late festival opening and tough to fit in once the fall season began.

Anthony Shaffer’s 1970 play Sleuth makes sense as the first offering. Although mysteries and crime themes work well in TV, film and podcasts, they don’t show up often on Toronto’s serious-minded stages, where even comedies are rare. A play like this is filling a gap in the market (Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap will attempt to do the same in the new year).

Patrick Galligan plays bestselling novelist Andrew Wyke, whose fictional alter ego Lord Merridew uses his ingenuity to solve elaborate crimes. Wyke has invited his wife Marguerite’s younger new lover, Milo (Sepehr Reybod), for drinks. Why? He wants her out of the way so he can spend more time with his mistress, and so he’s concocted a scheme that involves Milo donning a disguise, breaking into his house and stealing a valuable item, all so Milo can walk away with a chunk of cash (and pay for the extravagant life his wife is used to) and he himself can claim the insurance money.

What follows is a deliciously entertaining cat and mouse game that is too carefully plotted and imaginatively staged to spoil with further synopsis. It’s hard to believe this is Peter Fernandes’ directorial debut, it is so confident and spring-loaded for dramatic tension.

Sim Suzer’s one-room set — evocatively lit by Mikael Kangas — will convince you its hallways and staircases lead to other rooms, and that a window truly looks down on a leafy lawn. Shelves and tables are laden with games and novelty items: clues, perhaps, to the mystery at the heart of the play.

Composer John Gzowski’s subtle sound design contributes to the tension and mystery — I found it crept up on me. Joyce Padua’s colourful costumes, meanwhile, add to the work’s mischievous sense of play.

There’s a dated feel to some of the dialogue — including some racial slurs — but Fernandes and his actors understand they’re part of the show’s milieu. This is, after all, a time in which writers wrote on typewriters. Galligan gives us everything we need to know about the smug, self-satisfied Wyke in the first five minutes, while Reybod navigates his part with impressive skill and versatility.

A film adaptation is out there, starring Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine. But this stage version will satisfy you with its sleight of hand tricks and twists.

Sleuth continues at the Fleck at Harbourfront Centre Theatre (231 Queens Quay West) until Nov. 1. Ticket details here

Marvellous Monks

Besides crime mysteries, another genre often underappreciated by Toronto theatre companies is the comedy. Which is strange, since in these stressful times we could all use a good laugh.

Since debuting at the Toronto Fringe a couple of years ago, Monks (Rating: ✭✭✭✭), Annie Luján and Veronica Hortigüela’s delightful two-hander about a pair of Benedictine monks determined to enjoy themselves while the abbot is away from the monastery, has found converts wherever it’s played, including the Edinburgh Fringe.

The premise is simple. While the abbot’s away, the monks will play, whether it’s the silly “Red Hands” game or wandering out into the audience to chat us up. (On press night, many of us jotting notes were called “Brother Critic.”)

I saw the show at the Fringe, and am in awe how it’s deepened and developed. Luján’s monk, sporting a long brown wig with bald cap and fake moustache that struggle to stay on in the latter part of the show, is the bossier and more arrogant of the two, while Hortigüela’s monk, his face adorned with a beautifully detailed unibrow (the actors created the set, costumes, sound and props), is more of an eager follower.

Both are adept at engaging the audience as they hand out bread (“Is Brother Celiac in the room?” they ask) and grapes and, when a storm suddenly hits, having us contribute with DIY props.

Underlying it all is a sly commentary on the uselessness of so much work — their job, after all, is to sort, wash and count lentils — and the importance of sometimes doing nothing.

There is an exquisite moment of clown puppetry, that is as funny as it is moving. There could be more lead-up to an emotional audience participation moment near the end, in which the tone switches a bit. But then the two clown-trained artists finish things off with a musical sequence that is gloriously ridiculous.

This isn’t the last you’ll be seeing of Monks, which is already a part of other theatre company seasons and will likely show up in more. Their runs regularly sell out. Don’t miss it while it’s here.

Monks continues at the Tarragon Extraspace (30 Bridgman) until Nov. 15. Ticket details here