WHO TO CALL: Entertainment Editor Community Editor Wednesday, November 22, 1995 ~ North Shore News - 18 STORIES Andrew McCredie Layne Christensen 985-2131 (147) cern ‘LACK COMEDY is one of the most diffi- ; cult styles in theatre to ~: both write and present. The ., attempts are often one-note “stylistic exercises that are ‘neither shocking nor funny. Martin Millerchip _ . So it is with some surprise, but ‘tio hesitation, that I urge you to >. catch the Arts Club Theatre pro: duction of Vigil. If there was a. wrong note in this bitingly funny and ultimately : touching production, written and directed by Morris: - Panych, it slipped past Ine. --It’s hard to imagine that artistic director Bill . Millerd could have found a better choice to launch the ° ew direction of the small Revue Stage. The other dramas scheduled for the remainder of the season will be hard-pressed to top.the standard set by the’ writing. directing and acting in Vigil. “Production values also soaréd above the, usual tacky, two-dimensionality offered as a backdrop to. most of the light entertainment previousiy on offer in this venue. Marsha Sibthorpe’s lights and, especially, Ken MacDonald’s set and costumes are an integral and sophisticated part of this production’s success. ~“Alan Williams as Kemp, the central character in - Panych’s exploration of alienation and the need for love, is riveting. The words provide intellectual access but his angular body reflects the inner tensions of a compulsive scarecrow that has scared its last crow. °° Williams has almost all the lines, but Margaret Barton’s Grace provides a perfect counter-weight of serenity. Her performance 1 is a selfless example of the old adage “ess is more” and I often found myself afraid ” The script deals with the scars created in a fictional: first nations farnily by the snatching of a young child by’ social services... .The enforced “whitening” of native conimunities is something Canadian society has yet to fully acknowl- -edge. Add to this a committed native ‘cast and one per- formance by’ Byron Chief-Moon of comic self- -depreca- tion’and there is enough in this’ evocative evening tov provoke both thought and emotion. a = But age’ and ability problems in the cast.must be’ rec _ ognized along. with the crushing lack of development i in the story. That said. artistic director Donna Spencer j is to be congratulated for her: color-blind vision and multi- racial : prograinming. ~. Back on the North Shore, First Impressions - Theatre production of Cinderella runs at the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre until Dec. 2 ; This is an ambitious presentation of the ‘Rodge S| and " Hammerstein musical, not a traditional pantomime. ° See ¢ Deep Cove page 28 This week's feature: 7 - FADIAN I THE CUPBOARD: a ‘Sat, Sun, & Mon. & Mon 2:05'p.m.- $8.68 THE POSTMAN FACE THE SCARLET SET