Lust is pretty straightforward. Love, on the other hand, as Ephraim in Ten Times Two: The Eternal Courtship discovers, is a great deal more complicated.
David Belke’s remount now playing at The Backstage Theatre until May 22 is a delightful, heart-warming charmer reminding us that true love is the strongest force on earth. And unlike lust, it takes a lifetime to create those indivisible bonds.
And Ephraim just happens to have all the time in the world. He is cursed with immortality, and has spent the best part of the last 400 years tasting and retasting every pleasure known to mankind.
By the time we meet him circa 1399 sitting hunched in a tavern scanning secret documents, he is bored with life. Characterized by The Host as a “misanthropic, malevolent, monstrosity,” Ephraim gets his kicks from fomenting treachery, revolution and bloodshed.
He is on a blood-spilling mission but delays his departure and asks that only Constance, a serving wench, bring his meals. In a bizarre way he cares for her.
His manner is boorish, abrasive and uncommunicative. In return she is playful, sassy and practical. Light and dark – they are ideal sparring partners.
The Host, an omnipresent and omnipotent figure with connections to The Fates, senses a spark between them and wagers Ephraim he cannot win the love of this barmaid.
Absorbed in false pride and narcissistic perfection, Ephraim takes the bet. “I never lose,” he declares and spends the next 600 years chasing Constance.
Through the ages we see her reincarnated as the snobbish Lady Eleanor Penfield, a celibate nun and the storybook romantic Betsy Parsons to the secretive, French spy Simone de Longchamps and a rather sterile briefcase-bearing businesswoman.
As Constance, Kristi Hansen delivers a historical tour de force performance. Every accent, every nuance, every gesture is seamlessly threaded through each character to create a signature personality.
Three of my favourites were Paulie, a pig herder (1550) more interested in cramming food into her starved body than talking love; the single and pregnant Catherine (1850) who uses her pragmatic, Scottish roots to broker a marriage contract, and Prudence (1925) a tipsy American flapper girl out to enjoy life. Half the fun was wondering and watching how Hansen delivers each performance.
Garett Ross as Ephraim crackles with energy as he tries every trick in the book to win Constance’s love. While Hansen continually switches characters, Ross always plays Ephraim, a man whose character arc grows and shifts dramatically as he discovers himself and the true meaning of love. And Ross eases us through each transition with grace and humour.
Dave Clarke is completely engaging as the Machiavellian matchmaker while Brian Bast deserves special acknowledgment for the exquisite parade of costumes he created.
Ten Times Two is a captivating, feel-good comedy that should not be missed.
Review
Ten Times Two: The Eternal Courtship<br />Shadow Theatre<br />May 4 to May 22<br />The Backstage Theatre<br />10330 – 84 Ave.<br />Tickets: Call 780-420-1757 or at tixonthesquare.ca
