Peer Gynt, measured by sock

While waiting to get into the theatre to see Third Wall's latest production, Peer Gynt, I cast on for a sock. By curtain, this was the progress I'd made:

Bear in mind that I'm a slow knitter at the best of times, and I was knitting blind the entire time.

Aside from the length the show was better than I had expected. Although the show had some serious faults, as well as many minor ones, at least all the actors knew their lines, unlike the unfortunate Tartuffe last year, also directed by James Richardson and featuring the cast of Ottawa Theatre School graduating students.

Peer Gynt did not suffer from any actors so bad that you wanted to hang yourself right there and then just to end the agony, but it also failed to have the magic bright shining star in the cast, despite having a few very good actors. Andy Massingham's performance was very good, but I couldn't help feeling that he didn't fit the role quite right. David Hersh was as always a strong performance but the roles he had didn't seem to allow for anything more.

A few performances left something to be desired. Lucie Roy as the mother left me cold and irritated, even on her deathbed scene. Romuald Hivert's performance as the Troll King, and one of the madmen were nothing short of corny.

The remaining performances failed to leave much impact on me, whether because of their small parts, or because of their performances, I'm not sure. I had a hard time distinguishing between a couple of the young women with their generically pretty looks. One of them certainly felt more amateur than the others, but I don't want to pick a name, since I could so easily choose the wrong one.

I found the movement in the show to be on the whole quite wonderful, and I hope that Peter Ryan gets some recognition for his beautiful work. The set and costumes were fine, and worked quite well throughout, except towards the start where the curtain block nearly every seat's view of Peer and his mother (I changed my seat a couple of times before the show began, finally realizing that the bloody curtain was going to be a problem wherever I sat.)

I felt the pacing in the show was all too frenzied, and there was a distinct lack of emotional levels. Throughout the entire show everyone is frenzied and yelling. A little more calm and quiet would have been a great help to the show.

On the whole though, the show was more than decent, with some very good bits scattered here and there. If this is the least successful show of the season, as I suspect it will be, then it shows how much Third Wall has grown up, and gives me great hope for the future.