Is there something in the water or do I just keep winning the theatre ticket lottery? After the stellar lineup that was the undercurrents theatre festival in Ottawa, my next audience-member adventure took me to Laws of Motion, an indie theatre production at Merchants of Green Coffee in Toronto. (Couldn't find it anywhere on the website, but the show is at 8 p.m.)
I'm a big fan of smart television with strong story arcs that build over an entire season (Season 1 & 2 of Veronica Mars anyone?). I love it when creators build on their vision and don't try to dumb it down for us because they think we might be too dim to understand (Season 3 of Veronica Mars aka 'How Networks Ruin Everything You Love'). Watching Laws of Motion is like watching the best season of your favorite TV show in a live and compact 90 minute format. It leans back with a perfectly paced wind-up so it can lovingly sucker-punch you in the heart. If you had taken 5 minutes to think about it, you probably could have seen it coming, but you were too invested in the unbelievably engaging characters in their incredibly well stylized world to think of anything else except the moment in front of you. So you sit there, like a bystander on a subway platform, unable to do anything except feel ALL THE EMOTIONS when shit gets revealed and comes to an incredibly satisfying conclusion.
Oh and if you're still on the fence after the reading this, let me tel you that even though I see a lot of theatre productions in any given year, trust me when I say that this show also has the best acting I have ever seen on stage in a very long time.
Bravo, Small Elephant Co-Op, for showing me how a group of incredibly talented people can come together and make brilliant work happen for themselves. You've not only told me a fucking awesomeamzingholyshitballsitsgoodstory, you've also inspired me to get back to work and make things happen. That and go out and read everything ever by playwright Ashlin Halfnight (which is the coolest name that wasn't included in the Lord of the Rings trilogy).
My only regret with this show is that I don't have time to go see it again, so please go out there and do it for me, will you?