Dark comedy explores animal rights

Maggie Tree Productions, an Edmonton theatre collective that supports the development of women in the arts, has a knack for taking bitter radishes and sculpting them into aromatic roses.

Laughter, drama and tragedy are the bedrock of their thought provoking plays and the world premiere of Category E, their latest offering opening Friday, April 10 at Varscona Theatre, may get a few pet lovers’ hackles bristling.

Playwright Belinda Cornish is a dynamic, multi-platform actor – a Sterling Award winner, co-founder of Panties Productions and female lead in the TV series Tiny Plastic Men.

The Edmonton-based actor is also an avowed supporter of animal rights against indiscriminate testing. Category E is set in an alternate dystopian reality where humans have decided that for the betterment of humanity, imperfect or inferior people are used as scientific test subjects.

Occasionally the test subjects are brought in from the general population. At other times, subjects are born and bred within the facility.

“Belinda feels very strongly for animal rights and questions our belief that we are superior beings. All the experiments in the play are based on research and the bizarre things that are done to animals, and she questions this approach for the betterment of humans,” says Maggie Tree founder Vanessa Sabourin who, with co-founder Kristi Hansen, has produced seven plays since 2007.

In Cornish’s vision, three unconventional individuals meet in a white cell. Millet (Miranda Allen) is brought in from the outside while Corcoran (Louise Lambert), a half-blind paraplegic is a long-time resident. The trio is rounded out with the young, in-house born Filigree played by St. Albert raised Jenna Dykes-Busby.

“The play is about three people who live with each other. They no longer eat when they want or sleep when they want. They are brought in and out of the little room they live in,” adds Sabourin.

“Throughout the play, conditions deteriorate, in a way you would see an animal going through the process. They have no ability to change the outcome. They just learn to live with it. It doesn’t mean it’s enjoyable, but they find ways to entertain themselves.”

Although some playwrights might script a ham-handed approach in a topic dear to their hearts, Cornish chose a lighter tone.

“Belinda is very good at dark comedy and telling a story in a humorous way without being slapstick. Her dialogue is always strong. It can go from serious to funny in a flash. She comes at it obliquely and the audience never feels the attack.”

For this important piece of work, Maggie Theatre invited Nancy McAlear, an artist with a bold theatrical aesthetic to direct.

“She’s done some interesting pieces where the stories were not straightforward. She’s done some poetic work and she’s a great match for Belinda. Category E is not a poetic piece, but it doesn’t have a traditional arc either.”

Perhaps the actors’ greatest challenge or obstacle was to read the required research material. For Dykes-Busby, it was very upsetting discovering what humans do to monkeys, rabbits and mice in the name of science.

“A lot of tests were obsolete. But there was one for rabbits where they would hold their eyes open with pliers and put stuff in. They would end up blind,” describes Dykes-Busby.

She also read about baby monkeys institutionally bred and raised that were deprived of their mothers at different times to see how their social skills developed.

“The first monkey test I couldn’t get through it I was so shaken by it,” says the devoted animal lover who with husband and fellow actor, Matt Busby, cares for Duck, a four-year-old tabby and Garry, a 2-year-old black and white cat.

Although the topic is dark, Dykes-Busby encourages the public to check out Category E.

“It’s entertaining and touching, but it doesn’t pull at the heartstrings. It’s actually light. It’s a dark comedy that is important and funny at the same time.

Visual artist Claire Uhlick also exhibits a lobby installation that extends the world of the play into the reception area.