Review
Bears
Runs until Oct. 31
Maclab Theatre at Citadel Theatre
9828 101A Ave., Edmonton
Tickets: $53 Call 780-425-1820 or online at www.citadeltheatre.com
Bears, now playing at the Citadel’s Maclab Theatre until Oct. 31, is a strangely surreal production that draws the theatre-goer into a bizarre series of mystical yet unapologetically political events.
At first the events are confusing. However, Indigenous writer-director Matthew MacKenzie keeps the tension taught throughout 75 minutes of unfolding action. He spins a wild yarn, but it is full of magic, ingenuity, humour, and fiery political commentary.
The hero, Floyd (Sheldon Elter), is an Indigenous oilfield worker on the run from the RCMP toward the West Coast after taking part in a “workplace accident.” The accident is never fully specified.
What is learned is that Floyd was an oilsands employee who earned good money but was often trotted out as a token Native supporter of Big Oil, a role he grew to resent. Even more, he was incensed about oil spills contaminating huge swaths of nature, and how labouring on clean-up crews sucked the life out of him.
As he escapes westward, Floyd shares his love of bears — grizzlies, in particular — and recalls fond memories of his mother Mama Bear (Christine Sokaymoh Frederick), whose quick wit masks a deep well of spiritual guidance.
Moving westward into the natural world through meadows, mountains, and streams, Floyd grows hair on his body, his muscles bulge, his gait widens, and his sense of smell sharpens. A child of nature, he connects with bears and gradually transforms into one.
In this quest to discover himself, Floyd is supported by a dancing chorus of seven women led by Gianna Vacirca, Alida Kendell, Shammy Belmore, Skye Demas, Zoë Glassman, Rebecca Sadowski, and St. Albert’s Karina Cox.
They rally round him, serving as a cheering squad narrating and reinforcing events. Just as importantly, the chorus represents nature, ranging from chickadees, salmon, and meadow flowers to an avalanche, a torrential river, and an RCMP posse.
Contrasting Floyd’s roughness, the chorus weaves a series of delicately balanced synchronized movements juxtaposed against words laced with humour and salty language. It’s pure magic.
Once again, Elter delivers a powerhouse performance, taking us from a frightening childhood and the loss of his mother to a man who isolates himself to discover his true identity. While the chorus fills in the blanks and provides colour as well as context, the bulk of the performance lies squarely on Elter’s shoulders, and he delivers in spades.
Sweating under the lights, he creates a pulse-pounding, can’t-take-my-eyes-off-it adventure that has one cheering for Floyd right until the last sentence. He captures Floyd’s desperate flight, his appreciation of the natural world, and his fury at the desecration of land for industrial advancement.
The actor's physicality as he morphs into a lumbering bear is a joy to watch. And when Elter joins the balletic movements of the chorus, he is miraculously both clumsy and graceful.
Bears is more than a story about one man’s flight from an industrial society and transformation to natural being. It provides a shocking message at how Big Oil scars nature. It’s a powerful work that continues to pose serious social questions and political commentary.
