Stratford Festival 2024/Get That Hope by Andrea Scott, directed by André Sills, Studio Theatre, closes Sept. 28. Tickets here.
When Andrea Scott was recruited to go to Los Angeles to write for Disney amidst great fanfare, it was inevitable that Stratford would come calling. The result is the world premiere of Get That Hope, set in Toronto’s Little Jamaica community with an inside eye to the Jamaican immigrant experience.
While mildly entertaining, the play needs work.
The story takes place on Jamaican Independence Day, as laid-off worker Richard Whyte (Conrad Coates) gets ready to celebrate his home nation. During the course of the day, tensions that have for too long simmered under the surface rise up to confront the family.
Margaret Whyte (Kim Roberts), Richard’s second wife, suffers from a disability and is unable to work. She regrets her too young marriage, and having to raise her step-daughter Rachel Whyte (Celia Aloma). Playwright Scott makes Margaret her feminist mouthpiece. For her part, the bitter Rachel is working two jobs to support the family, but has plans to move away.
There is also the unemployable Simeon Whyte (Savion Roach), Margaret’s and Richard’s son, who is suffering from PTSD after leaving the army. His turmoil revolves around the fact that his father has set the bar too high on his expectations for Simeon’s success in life. As well, Rachel has always been jealous of Simeon.
The sixth person in the cast is Margaret’s Filipina caregiver, Millicent Flores (Jennifer Villaverde), who is supposed to be 48, but doesn’t look it, and who, we discover, is having an affair with the much younger Simeon.
Basically, the structure of the play is choppy and fragmented as Scott goes from trope to trope. There seems to be no theme she has left out — PTSD, sibling rivalry, feminism, stepmother/stepdaughter tensions, unemployment, disability, suicide, forbidden love, racism, dementia, financial skullduggery, to name but few, while the reconciliatory ending seems a might forced with all its troublesome threads tied up in a neat bow. As well, is the family name meant to be ironic?
Yet, there are some good things going for the play. In particular, Scott writes strong characters and is able to come up with believable, emotional dialogue. The cast is strong, and director Andre Sills keeps the melodrama at bay, which this play could easily have become.
The playwright presents, in effect, a Jamaican family that is like any other family that is dealing with problems. Rather than marginalizing them behind a Black curtain, Scott brings the Whytes into the mainstream of Canadian life, which is a very important factor and should be applauded.
As well, out of fairness, I have to point out that a good portion of the audience was really into the play, and demonstrated strong reactions throughout. You could say there was a lively connection between the audience and Scott’s characters.
Nonetheless, while it’s important that Get That Hope takes us inside the Jamaican diaspora in contemporary Toronto, unfortunately, the weaknesses of the play are too strong to ignore.
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
- SCRUTINY | Sir Wayne McGregor’s Autobiography Fascinates At FFDN24 - October 3, 2024
- SCRUTINY | Fall For Dance North Homecoming Program Offers Dazzling Trio Of Works - October 2, 2024
- SCRUTINY | Toronto Homecoming Of Come From Away Reminds Us Of Its Poignancy - September 30, 2024
