Tony Kushner's A Bright Room Called Day is a prescient look at the disruptive political climate rising in North America.
PREVIEW
A Bright Room Called Day
Studio Theatre
Oct. 12 to 21
Timms Centre for the Arts
University of Alberta
87 Ave. and 112 St.
Tickets: $12 to $25. Call 780-492-2495 or at http://www.ualberta.ca/artshows
It is no coincidence that Tony Kushner's
A Bright Room Called Day, a 1985 critique of Reagan's Iran-Contra scandal, is Studio Theatre's season opener.
In the face of Trump era political bombs detonating at every level, the University of Alberta's fine arts graduating students update this play set to run Oct. 12 to 21 at the Timms Centre for the Arts.
Directed by MFA directing candidate Brenley Charkow, this stark production is part of Kushner's personal debate between political morality and personal expedience.
Bright Room is set in the parallel worlds of 1930s Germany prior to the outbreak of the Second World War and the present day. Agnes and her collective of liberal artists watch as democratically elected Hitler and the Nazi party move to take over the country.
Realizing the world is on the brink of massive changes, they must put their ideologies to the test: fight for their beliefs, escape or do nothing.
Added to the mix is Zillah, a paranoid young woman living in current times. Worried about right-wing leanings under Trump, she moves to Germany and rents Agnes' apartment where she encounters ghosts of the past.
"I like that Tony Kushner's plays respond to the politics of the times. I like that he asks the big questions, but doesn't necessarily give answers," said Charkow, who received permission from the American playwright to modernize this production.
"It's important to speak to a contemporary audience. We've updated it to the Charlottesville riots. That's the trigger for Zillah to seek out ghosts of the past. In the original production Zillah wrote letters to the president. She's now a video blogger."
At the production's heart is Agnes, a bit player in the German film industry. Her apartment has become a place of friendship, comfort and safety for her bohemian friends.
Taking part in the mix is Husz, her one-eyed lover, a Hungarian cameraman who lost an eye during the Trotsky Revolution. Then there's Baz, a flamboyant homosexual, Annabelle, a sexually ambiguous painter, and Paulinka, a rising actress and opium addict.
St. Albert's Hayley Moorhouse has nabbed the role of the rebellious left-leaning Gotchling, an activist and Kommunist Party Deutschland fighter.
A graphic designer willing to risk life, "Gotchling makes it a point to say she's working class and part of the proletariat. She's seen first-hand the suffering of her countrymen and that's created a flame in her to fight for change," said Moorhouse.
This adaptation is the Canadian premiere. In fact, there was only one Canadian production of
Bright Room since its 1985 debut.
"There's been a rise of this production in the States since Trump's election. Here in Canada, not so much. We don't think about politics in the same way as they do in the States. But as much as it is about politics, it's also about community."
Both Charkow and Moorhouse are optimistic the show will produce thought-provoking insights and challenge the audience.
Said Moorhouse, "There is such intense fear and darkness, but it is matched with lightness. Hope is a vital thing in this play even though everyone is certain of the political turnover. People are fighting for change and hope is really prominent."
