Troika and The Troubles (Review)

Last week we previewed the double-feature Troika and The Troubles, and I (Anabelle) had the chance to see the premiere last night along with our giveaway winner Lois Patterson.

Set in a tiny creative space just off Main Street, the plays are definitely worth checking out. Written, produced and acted by local talent, Troika and The Troubles made for sometimes funny, sometimes touching and sometimes tragic theater.

Troika

Troika is a series of autobiographical tableaux by second-generation half-Ukrainian, half-something-else Vancouverites. Lauren, Aliya and Natalie use episodes of their own life as Ukrainian-Canadians to explore something that in post-colonial literary criticism we call “cultural hybridity” (1) . A telling example was the use of a typically North American form–the fashion show–to display traditional Ukrainian costumes. But I digress.

Lauren, Aliya and Natalie explore their cultural background through dance, storytelling, folk tales, biography and reportage. Making sense of a hybrid identity is no easy task, and they achieved not only that, but were also able to share their illuminations with us, the audience. Although I can’t understand what it is to be Ukrainian-Canadian, the performance helped dispel myths about what it is to come from an “ethnic background”. And it was funny, too!

The Troubles

Don’t let the humorous beginning of The Troubles fool you: this is a tragic, sometimes even violent solo play (many characters, one actor) about living in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Often forgotten by newscasters in favor of more “glamorous” wars in the Middle East and Africa, the conflict in Belfast and Northern Ireland still continues to this day.

As with most forgotten truths, The Troubles was sometimes difficult to watch; the play explores the many faces of violence and how it has perpetuated itself in Belfast for generations. The intensity of the characters’ pain, especially the children, touched me deeply. Violence on such a scale seeps into every crack of society: the school yard, the street, the family home, even within the self.

The plays are on until Sunday, August 7th, at the Little Mountain Gallery on East 26th avenue, just off Main. For show times and more information about the plays, visit Resounding Scream Theater.

(1) You can take a girl out of a PhD, but you can’t take the literary scholar out of the girl.

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Disclaimer: HB604 was offered a complimentary ticket to attend the premiere of the play, which Anabelle attended. We were not paid to write a review nor were we required to do so. As always, Raul keeps editorial control over all the content published on the blog.

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