True West

Stuart Hughes and Mike Ross in True West. Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

The roles of Austin and Lee, the two brothers in Sam Shepard’s 1980 play True West, have been played by the likes of Tommy Lee Jones and Peter Boyle, Gary Sinise and John Malkovich, and Philip Seymour Hoffman and John C. Reilly (to name a few names). Now, Toronto audiences have the chance to see the siblings portrayed by another pair of talented actors, Soulpepper’s Mike Ross and Stuart Hughes, in a new production directed by Nancy Palk, on stage now at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.

Set in a faded pastel kitchen about 40 miles outside of Los Angeles, True West concerns the relationship between recently reunited brothers, Austin (Mike Ross), a screen writer and family man, and Lee (Stuart Hughes), a drifter and petty thief who has spent the last few months living on the desert. The play opens with an awkward encounter between the two estranged brothers: Austin is housesitting for their mother who is on vacation in Alaska, when Lee shows up, with his threatening manner, and starts pushing to borrow Austin’s car.

Austin and Lee seem completely different but they share a common history, including a dysfunction relationship with their alcoholic father. As the days pass, Lee encroaches on Austin’s workspace, curious about his work as a screenwriter, and much to his younger brother’s dismay, forces his half-baked film ideas on a visiting producer, Saul Kimmer (played by the delightful Ari Cohen). To both Lee and Austin’s surprise, Saul buys into Lee’s movie concept, a Western, of course, and the two bros are left to hash out a script, and a few family demons, over several bottles of Jack Daniels.

In time, Austin breaks down, longing for Lee’s lone wolf lifestyle, while Lee eventually softens to his brother’s hardworking, good guy ways. By the end of the play, each sibling essentially becomes the other, creating a huge mess (and a lot of toast!) in the process. Ultimately they are caught red handed when their mom (the wonderfully understated Pat Hamilton) returns from her trip to find them literally at each other’s throats.

Face-paced and fiercely comical, Soulpepper’s True West is performed in only one act (there's normally an intermission). The show features authentic set and costume design by Ken MacDonald, effective lighting by Graeme Thomson and upbeat country music by Paul Humphrey, taking the audience on a compelling journey into the dark chasms of Shepard’s tortured cowboy psyche. Director Nancy Palk gets excellent performances out of both leads, although they don't quite get to the disturbing place you would expect from the material, perhaps due to the quick-tongued, amusing nature of the dialogue in some of the scenes. Regardless, True West is a show that is not to be missed.

True West runs until May 4 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Visit soulpepper.ca for more information and to buy tickets.

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