Mitchell Cushman on Directing Mark O'Rowe's Terminus at the Royal Alexandra Theatre

(L to R): David Mirvish, Adam Wilson, Mitchell Cushman, Maev Beaty and Ava Jane Markus. Photo by Vince Talotta/Toronto Star.

The idea that the biggest theatre producers in Canada would want to put on his show came as a surprise to Outside The March artistic director Mitchell Cushman. “It went from something I thought was a joke to something that was actually happening,” he says.

His production of Irish playwright Mark O’Rowe’s Terminus premiered at the SummerWorks Performance Festival this past August (I happened to see it on the same fateful night as theatre producer David Mirvish). About 30 to 40 people were seated on stage at the Factory Theatre Mainspace, fully immersed in an intense theatre experience, when a medical emergency in the audience forced the company to stop the performance just before the play’s final scenes. Talk about a cliffhanger.

“We thought Mirvish is definitely not going to want to produce the show now,” says Cushman. “We were already worried about it being riskier fare than they traditionally offer, and then David didn’t get to see the end of the show. So when it did happen I joked that he programmed it so he could see how it ends.”

Lucky for those of us who missed it, Mr. Mirvish liked enough of what he saw to include the hit play in his Off-Mirvish Second Stage Series, a new program featuring local productions of award-winning international new plays and original productions of new works from the world festival circuits. Terminus begins previews this Wednesday, November 21.

“Kudos to them for having the guts and the vision to decide to do it. I definitely thought that having the audience seated on stage was one thing that would stand in the way of other people being interested in putting it on,” Cushman says.

Terminus is a contemporary Irish spoken-word opera that follows three interwoven stories through the gritty streets of Dublin. The original production, directed by the playwright, was performed at the Abbey Theatre for an audience of 100 to 200 people. For the Canadian premiere, Outside The March took the intimate presentation to the next level by bringing the audience on stage.

“It felt to me like a story told around a camp fire,” Cushman says. “I wanted to unite the audience and the actors.”

While the SummerWorks production of Terminus limited the audience to between 30 to 40 people, the remount at the Royal Alex will cap the number to 200 a night. “It will definitely be a different experience for the performers to try to keep everybody in the fold,” Cushman says.

On the topic of keeping up, the director admits he’s had concerns about people following along. “The language of the play is densely packed, it’s really like listening to poetry coming at you at an incredibly fast pace in specific dialects. So you really do need to pay attention or you’ll fall off and maybe not be able to get back on.”

When Outside The March got the rights to do the show, the script came with a sort of treatise from the playwright, including a list of all of the things they are not allowed to do with the play. “He wants it to be a story that’s told to the audience, not a play that’s acted out to the audience,” Cushman says. So the cast and crew had to work without props or a realistic set, and there were particular restrictions on lighting and sound design.

But if anyone can hold the audience’s attention it’s Cushman’s powerhouse cast of “expert storytellers.” The three-hander stars Maev Beaty as a mother with a heavy conscience who races to save a near-stranger from an anarchic band of lesbians; Ava Jane Markus as a lonely woman who finds comfort sex and love in the “arms” of a disembodied soul; and Adam Wilson as a serial killer on the prowl.

“It really does promise to be a different experience for the audience,” Cushman says. “Both in terms of seeing the most traditional theatre space in the city turned on its head, and that the script challenges what the idea of drama is. I think there is something to be said for something that is a bit less easily consumable, though infinitely pleasurable if you give yourself over to it. I think the play also knows how to have a good time. I certainly don’t want people to think it’s hard work in the wrong way. I think it packs an incredibly funny, witty, wry, entertainment punch as well.”

Terminus runs from November 21 to December 9 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre as part of the Off-Mirvish Second Stage Series. Visit mirvish.com for more information and to buy tickets.

Outside the March is known for producing acclaimed shows such as Noah Haidle’s Mr. Marmalade and Mike Daisey’s The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs (And The Repudiation And Redemption of Mike Daisey). Sign up for the company’s Inside The March club and get special ticket deals for Terminus and other upcoming productions. Email otmtheeatre@gmail.com for more information.

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Review

Terminus

Outside The March transforms the Royal Alexandra Theatre into a haunting underworld with this spellbinding production of Mark O’Rowe’s Terminus