No Great Mischief

R.H. Thomson, David Fox and cast of No Great Mischief. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

Tarragon Theatre launched its 42nd season this week with a new production of David S. Young’s No Great Mischief  (based on the 1999 novel by Alistair MacLeod). First produced at Tarragon Theatre in 2004, the play chronicles the ups and downs of the MacDonald family, a Cape Breton-based Gaelic clan with roots in the Scottish highlands.

Their tale of struggle and hardship is told from the perspective of Alexander MacDonald (R.H. Thompson), a successful orthodondist visiting his older, alcoholic brother in Toronto. We first meet Calum (David Fox) in a run-down Kensington Market rooming house, where he drinks himself into oblivion and reminisces about the family’s heroic ancestry.

From here, the beautifully staged production flashes back to the boys’ childhood spent on the rugged shores of Cape Breton. After losing both parents in a tragic accident on the ice, a young Alexander is taken in by his Grandpa (John Dolan) and Grandma (Nicola Lipman), where he is protected and nurtured with the added support of his “Serious Grandfather” (J.D. Nicolsen), while a teenaged Calum and his other brothers are left to raise themselves in a dirty shack.

The second act takes us underground to the mines of Elliot Lake, where a recently-graduated Alexander takes a job for a time with Calum and their visiting California cousin (Ben Irvine). It is in this dark setting that the younger brother truly bonds with his older sibling, and begins to see something of the harsh reality in which he lives. But their time together is cut short when a fight with francophone miners results in Calum’s imprisonment, and the brothers lives are forever altered.

Featuring rustic set and costume design by Charlotte Dean, enchanting lighting design by Graeme S. Thomson and lively Celtic music by Mike Ross, No Great Mischief takes the audience on an emotional journey into the heart of a proud and perservering culture. Director Richard Rose gets heartwrenching performances out of both leads, and from the ensemble, bringing MacLeod’s novel to life with a poignant force that will leave you deeply moved and grateful for your loved ones.

No Great Mischief runs until October 21 at the Tarragon Theatre. Visit tarragontheatre.com for more information and to buy tickets.

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