Biographies of the Dead and Dying: unique and brilliant

Biographies of the Dead and Dying

Biographies of the Dead and Dying is a captivating play that clutched me from the opening music until the unpredictable ending. The writer, Andrew Templeton, presents us with a perspective on death. The female lead, played by Heather Lindsay, twists her way through her neurotic need to write and find material while blocked by her own inability to live in the present reality.

Biographies is unique and brilliant, the acting powerful and outstanding, the staging and directing creatively executed and the lighting and sound dynamite. As a testament to the support this play has already received (and it’s only the first night) it was great to see the play draw in a full house at the Havana Theatre.

In the story, Alice, a well known writer, wants to compile ideas for her next novel. Renting a room in a haunted house inhabited by a ghost, she hopes to bring forth her own creativity.  The owner of the house allows himself to get wrapped up in her exploration.  This skilfully woven story takes us on a journey through the mind of this disenchanted writer.

Templeton, a Jessie-nominated playwright, pushes the boundaries of the characters, touching on all their vulnerabilities and strengths. The characters are engaging throughout the story as the cleverly written dialogue allows them to push and pull at their inner psyches. The setting is refreshingly set in BC and references are made numerous times to Vancouver and the province. Talent in BC is thriving as Templeton proves with Biographies.

On the stage Heather  Lindsay, playing Alice, is a force to be reckoned with. She pulled me into her neurotic, intense, over-wrought, paranoid and sexy character immediately. As an actress she exposes her heart, soul and private parts in Biographies. The lighting is so subtly done in this nude scene that it feels natural for the character as she reveals her inner vulnerability and fear.

Simon Driver, playing the dual role of the owner of the haunted house and Alice’s ex-husband, is another powerful player. He moves gracefully and forcefully about the stage, perfectly timed with Lindsay’s ongoing monologues.

The characters are multi-dimensional, doing unexpected and bizarre things. They move seamlessly from a potentially scary rape scene to fucking wildly on the balanced edge of a bathtub. Both actors are strong and steady throughout the play, unfazed by their dialogue overlapping at times. Like a dance, their bodies come together and move apart, utilizing all areas of the stage.

The sparsely decorated set includes one chair, a suitcase and a vintage cast iron bathtub. The actors lug this tub around the stage effortlessly, pulling it, lifting it, turning it and hiding beneath it. Who knew one could do so much with a bathtub? What does this tub represent?  The heaviness, the size, the vulnerability of the characters next to the tub or in the tub left me intrigued about the symbolism of this unusual prop.

As for Jeremy Waller, the director, he takes the audience for a ride. Our perspective is literally turned sideways and upside down. Who says a scene has to be played upright? Waller has the actors gliding along the floor in one scene as the chair is turned on its side and the bathtub sits on its head. The staging of these props and the movements of the actors bend our perspective of reality. There is never a dull moment.

Those who go see this play will be rewarded with an unusual and macabre journey. You may come out connecting with these characters and this story in an esoteric and spiritual way.

For showtime information go here.

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By Lianna Walden