The Cadre -

By ERIN FAGAN

There is both a chill and an intoxication which comes upon finding yourself as a witness at the edge of conflict.

When the personalities and their actions are very much in your face, you are forced to look, listen, and speculate about things that are otherwise avoided.

Last week, the Edge Players’ production of Cana- dian Murder Trial was held at The Barn for three eve- = s, combining elements of

ulti-media, a gritty and witty script, powerful charac- ter performances, and well- metred crime-drama sus- pense to create a theatre ex- perience filled with impact. While some parts of the show were somewhat slow and re- petitive, this was by far out- weighed by performance and suspense in the innovative troupe’s seventh production.

The themes and struc- ture of the play were reminis- cent of the highly acclaimed television show “Law & Or- der” in following one brutal murder from the crime scene through the investigation and on to the climactic trial pro- ceedings.

The writer-producer- director team of Randy Bur- rows and Francois Weber, long involved in the four year history of the Edge Players troupe, began the project two years ago out of an interac- tive creative process.

“We thought it would be a cool idea to try a court- room drama of some sort -- like Law & Order -- so we drew up ideas,” explained Burrows as he described the origins of the play.

From what Burrows

30 March 1999

referred to as the completion of the “first bastard script,” he described the role of in- put and ideas from the per- formers into aspects like characterization as being highly formative, although the inclusion of news clips and video evidence presented on three screens around the set was an idea that they had desired to include from the beginning. I felt these ele- ments served to compare what is seen by the general public with what actually oc- curs in a criminal investiga- tion.

“We wanted to have a multimedia component, to recreate the audio-visual evi- dence [that would be found] in a courtroom,” said Bur- rows, whose cameo as re- porter Steve LeCavelier in televised news reports bridged scenes and added wonderful lightness to the proceedings.

The plot of the show was based in part on a true story, namely a relatively re- cent case where a man used the infamous “too drunk to know” defence after a brutal Canadian murder.

In this play, the body of an assaulted 17-year-old girl is discovered in a store- room. The victim (played by stage manager Alison MacDonald) had apparently used fake I.D. to enter a crowded bar, and is discov- ered to have had high levels of alcohol and rohypnol (or “Rufies”, the highly publi- cized “date rape” dru oe system at the time o

When a suspect, dy- namically fleshed-out b Michael Farrell, is fou there is new wana 5 on nen sides as eee personal responsi une sate

Arts & ENTERTAINMENT_

Murder on the Edge

Edge Players stage Canadian Murder Trial

defendent’s rights confront each other on legal grounds. The startlingly violent con- clusion leaves a few more questions than answers -- which is always a good thing in murder mystery.

As aresult of the close proximity of the recreated murder scene and the realism of investigative characters (highlighted by the strong pce of Dennis

Iisworth and Tony Larder as embittered and frustrated de- tectives, and by Jennifer Campbell as a traumatized and somewhat confused wit- ness interrogated by Kirk MacKinnon), it felt like the closest experience for an au- dience member to tangibly rr along with the

tality home and into the interrogation room. In this scene, one was im- pressed by the striking “mean streets of Oshawa” attitude of one suspect played, althou slightly smirkily, by T ee bat characterization of a ree cpt by Lisa

court scene, in- cluding a jury section filled with inadvertant audience members, showcased the measured and well-styled bantering of Francois Weber and Aynsley Batherson, fur- ther vivid performances by witnesses and court members such as Jennifer Godfrey (who was naturally reminis- cent of the sort of “expert” one would expect on the stand), Robertson Li Leo Cheverie, and the j

evin

rtrayed by S Shabaty. Other characters

pr by Haley Crane, mes Hicken and Darcy MacDougall added to the vivid realism of the story and the power of this large cast. What impressed me most about this was the Michael Farrell and Francois Weber as the “seemingly” normal suspect and the emo- tionally charged defense law- yer, respectively. Farrell was a disturbingly changeable

plete wit an Edward Norton

crew cut and a thinly var- nished smugness which made this character so psychologi- cally and physically present.

“It was an interestin character because of the shi in character, the challenge of two characters in one,” stated Farrell about the nature of this complex role.

“You just wanted to hit the guy or something,” complimented one audience member, also struck by the performance. *Continued on page 9

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