Filed under

SummerWorks 2012: Marine Life

Emotions overflow in Rosa Laborde’s catastrophic comedy

By Lauren Gillett • August 19, 2012

Presented by Company Theatre Crisis and Aluna Theatre
Written by Rosa Laborde
Directed by Natasha Mytnowych

Cast of Marine Life (L to R): Scott McCord, Tommie-Amber Pirie and Philip Riccio. Photo by Natasha Mytnowych.

Some relationships are like natural disasters: unwavering and destructive. Playwright Rosa Laborde makes the connection between codependent love and environmental devastation in Marine Life, a darkly funny three-hander now playing at the SummerWorks Performance Festival.

Featuring a simple set of table and chairs, with a large, seaweed-inspired chandelier hanging overhead, the show stars Tommie-Amber Pirie as an tree-hugging activist caught between her lawyer/lover (Philip Riccio), and emotionally needy brother (Scott McCord). The cast delivers under director Natasha Mytnowych, committing to the characters’ idiosyncracies in a compelling, laugh-out-loud performance. Memorable scenes include McCord’s “Mexican love song,” and a hilarious appearance by Riccio in scuba fins.

Marine Life runs until August 19 at the Theatre Passe Muraille Mainspace. Visit SummerWorks.ca for more information and to buy tickets.

Our rating: