WHO TO CALL: e Community Editor A.P. McCredie 4 985-2131 (113) O MUCH theatre! So lit- tle space! The North Shore theatre scene has been in full swing for many weeks now and I have already enjoyed four community- based productions while still trying to believe summer hasn’t faded to black along with the house lights. Martin Millerchip THEATRE REVIEW This column must concentrate on two shows that you can still catch but ! should first acknowl- edge the success that the Shaw Theatre in Deep Cove has been -enjoying this fall. If you missed First Impressions production of Noises Off, you missed some great comedy. Cast and crew impressed me to no end as they pulled off a technically difficult farce with consummate N h élan. The offstage sexual ort dynamics of this play within a play did not really work but everything else was so good it didn't really matter. Deep Cove Stage followed First Impressions into the Shaw with Joseph Kesselring’s much loved Arsenic And Old Lace . I found use show to be just a lit- tle too self-conscious, a little too aware of stage business rather than character objective with the result that scenes kept stopping while something was emphasized. But it is hard to argue with suc- cess and this handsome looking production (with the exception of the bald wig from Wall Mart’s hal- loween reject bin) packed the the- atre to the rafters almost every night of the run. Staircase by Charles Dyer. A North Vancouver Community Players production directed by Rita Weakes. To Nov. 5. Res: 983-2633. For a club that has such a tradi- tional middle-class audience base Charles Dyer's play represents something of a departure in pro- gramming. Perhaps that is why there is no clue in any of the advertising that the “entanglement of lovers” referred to is a male-mate relation- ship. Not that Staircase is controver- sial in any way. It is a sad and lone- ly story of a relationship hidden away from an English society that still required homosexuals to “con- sent” in private. It is a story of nuance and sub- tlety as external pressures gradually affect the relationship and some truths are forced into the epen, I left feeling that both actors, Ala, Clift and Grahame Andrews. were quite magnificent, but not fully believing in the relationship between their characters. Perhaps the rhythm of the play will have smoothed out by now and this unusual little play should pro- vide an interesting evening of the- atre if you can catch it by Saturday. Phone carly. Hendry Hail regu- larly sells out. Wednesday, November 2, 1994 ~ North Shore News - 17, ' STORIES © Shore theatre productions shows no signs of facing to black The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance. A Presentation House Players production, directed by Rob Santo. To Nov. 12. Res: 986-1351. Congratulations to Val Mason and the Board of Presentation House for a renewed commitment to its theatre. Elephant Man marks a return to in-house production that will com- plement other theatre rentals and 1 sincerely hope that with the support of the community the newly (if unimaginatively) named Players will beceme an important part of the North Shore’s theatre scene. Bernard Pomerance’s play is an add mix of inventive drama and rather vague philosophy. The most inieresting element of the script is how the philosophical fall of mean-well surgeon Frederick Treves parallels the rise to romantic innocence of fairground freak John SAT., NOV. 5 - 6 PM Exclusive to the North Shore via Satellite Come early ... Food & Beverage Specials 135 Pemberton St. (at Weich) 984-3558 One element of this moral see- saw succeeds stunningly in the Presentation House production. Damon Calderwood’s portrayal of the title role is a beautiful and moving rendition of noble vulnera- bility that is quite remarkable for its understated honesty. On the other hand, Ken Ruffelle’s Treves journeys far less interestingly from the certainty of his own medical prowess and morality to the fear that life might be cruel and arbitrary. It is not that Ruffelle is weak as an actor, only that he chooses to show Treves as a weak vessel very early. This is not a very interesting choice when Pomerance devotes one complete scene to parodying Treves as a kind of side-show freak in case the audience misses his point. The production, under the direc- tion of Rob Santo, makes a wonder- aa UNCEN ful virtue out of the necessity of thrift. Simply staged, the show suc- ceeds, for the most part, in creating an imaginative theatricality that serves Pomerance’s short scenes well. However, Santo fails to fully explore the extremities of the play. Heaven and heli are in short supply here. The brutality of the Belgian raree show should evoke Hieronymus Bosch rather than coneheads from Saturday Night Live, while the creation of Merrick’s model church, a major symbol in the play, scems to matter no more than any other form of occupational therapy might. So, it’s an uneven production, that perhaps does not provoke as much thought as it might, but the fragile, crooked beauty at its centre makes it worth seeing. . Budget Beaters. =) * BUBINOSS...oceccnececnem BBE IDEAL INTERIORS New Location - New Name ideal furniture gallerys Visit Our New Showroom In The Mr. Jax Building, 6 Blocks East Of Main St. Fall & Pre Christmas Sale Now On! Further Reductions On Discontinued Furniture & Accessories Monday - Friday 9 am. - 5 pm. Saturday 11 am. - 4 pm. Ample Parking Phone 254-7751 #100 - G11 Alexander Street, Van., B.C. food raha, V6A 1El : w FASHION enccrcnnnnennn RDS