Persephone Productions performs piano play, Prodigy
Three generations of Russian women grace the Ste. Catherine stage
By Madeleine Elton, Culture Writer
Remember the theatre? It’s this thing where you pay a little money and watch talented people bring new worlds to life. It’s beautiful in Montreal this time of year. Stroll down the street, drink a little wine perhaps, and experience the theatre. Last Wednesday marked the opening night of Prodigy, a play adapted from a story by Canadian author Nancy Hutson. On this day I stumbled into a theatre on Ste. Catherine and sat down with no expectations. What happened next was an absolute delight.
The lights faded away and then came back on. An old woman sat on stage and began to speak with a thick Russian accent. A couple of jokes later she had my undivided attention.
Prodigy tells the story of three generations of women who are connected through music – specifically, through the piano. A grandmother, her daughter, and her granddaughter displayed their lives and loves on the stage before me, and I cried. This may seem like an inconsequential comment, but live performances never make me cry.
The play deals with the complex issues that arise in mother-daughter relationships. The granddaughter, Miya, is a piano prodigy, and her mother, a failed pianist, cannot bear the jealousy. The three women in the play all narrate as well as participate in the action onstage. This feature lends Prodigy a unique quality. Imagery and unconscious thoughts are exposed just as they would be in a novel, and the writing is virtually faultless.
For those familiar with the writings of Alice Munro, this play is similar in its ability to pack so much meaning in the delivery of each line, while still remaining simple and poetic. For women, the work is striking in its honest portrayal of the balance between the love and resentment a mother can feel toward her child. And while Prodigystarts off with a seemingly simple mother-daughter relationship, it soon ventures off into extreme and dark places. Life gets dark and complicated, but it can still be exquisite.
The three women in the play are Karen Cromar, Nathalie Stechysin, and Amelia Sargisson, all actresses whose chemistry creates a force that reverberates throughout the entire theatre.
The play is being produced by Persephone Productions – an organization that aims to “acknowledge the importance of theatre in our lives by creating opportunities for young artists to find their place and make a contribution.” Prodigy certainly achieves this goal and is a production that should not go unnoticed, so treat yourself to a night on the town before exams get too crazy. You won’t regret it.
Remember the theatre? It’s this thing where you pay a little money and watch talented people bring new worlds to life. It’s beautiful in Montreal this time of year. Stroll down the street, drink a little wine perhaps, and experience the theatre. Last Wednesday marked the opening night of Prodigy, a play adapted from a story by Canadian author Nancy Hutson. On this day I stumbled into a theatre on Ste. Catherine and sat down with no expectations. What happened next was an absolute delight.
The lights faded away and then came back on. An old woman sat on stage and began to speak with a thick Russian accent. A couple of jokes later she had my undivided attention.
Prodigy tells the story of three generations of women who are connected through music – specifically, through the piano. A grandmother, her daughter, and her granddaughter displayed their lives and loves on the stage before me, and I cried. This may seem like an inconsequential comment, but live performances never make me cry.
The play deals with the complex issues that arise in mother-daughter relationships. The granddaughter, Miya, is a piano prodigy, and her mother, a failed pianist, cannot bear the jealousy. The three women in the play all narrate as well as participate in the action onstage. This feature lends Prodigy a unique quality. Imagery and unconscious thoughts are exposed just as they would be in a novel, and the writing is virtually faultless.
For those familiar with the writings of Alice Munro, this play is similar in its ability to pack so much meaning in the delivery of each line, while still remaining simple and poetic. For women, the work is striking in its honest portrayal of the balance between the love and resentment a mother can feel toward her child. And while Prodigystarts off with a seemingly simple mother-daughter relationship, it soon ventures off into extreme and dark places. Life gets dark and complicated, but it can still be exquisite.
The three women in the play are Karen Cromar, Nathalie Stechysin, and Amelia Sargisson, all actresses whose chemistry creates a force that reverberates throughout the entire theatre.
The play is being produced by Persephone Productions – an organization that aims to “acknowledge the importance of theatre in our lives by creating opportunities for young artists to find their place and make a contribution.” Prodigy certainly achieves this goal and is a production that should not go unnoticed, so treat yourself to a night on the town before exams get too crazy. You won’t regret it.
