Christmas Trio...

by Susan Hussey

Gorilla Theatre

December 5, 2009

For most of us Christmas is the time of year when we get together with the ones we love. For others, it’s the time of year when we get together with family because their our family, not necessarily because we love them.

Christmas Trio is a three character play written by Susan Hussey, produced by the Gorilla Theatre. As always with the Gorilla Theatre, Christmas Trio is presented in an intimate and in-your-face setting to the forty seven audience members in attendance. This dialogue driven character piece will have you wondering about your own family as you feel closer of theirs.

Christmas Trio chronicles the story of a family torn apart by joblessness, infidelity, alcoholism, divorce and miscommunication. As the play begins we meet Barbara, who enjoys a cocktail on her 40th birthday. Barbara laments about her life without a partner and how it stems from her home life, which she invites us to as Christmas time rolls around. Barbara visits her mother Edna in Florida the year she doesn't visit her father, Barry, at home. We learn of the trials and tribulations of this dysfunctional family over the years and eerily find parallels.

Well constructed and executed, this character study is flawless in inviting us into their world. Meg Heimstead, Karel Wright and Jim Wicker seamlessly cascade their soliloquies together to gel divided stream of consciousness to a building story. With a simple set and little use of props, Christmas Trio is an excellent example of words over dazzle and fluff.

With all of the superb dialogue and character development, I found Christmas Trio very hard to follow. One minute Barbara is a forty year old working professional who enjoys a cocktail and a bratty teenager the next. As we dive deeper into the turmoil of the family, it seems to go nowhere and wander aimlessly. Jumping from Barbara’s Christmas’s at age eight, sixteen, seventeen then back to forty left me with no resolution. Possibly, this is to mimic real life where we go through life with many unanswered questions in our past. Although in a place of escapism, I don’t like being reminded of that fact. Don’t get me wrong, the acting was there, but it couldn’t save the lacking storyline. I unfortunately left the theatre blasé with more questions than going into it.

All in all, I found Christmas Trio wonderfully acted and a well executed production. Although, if you’re looking for a feel good family piece for the holiday season, I would not recommend it. After the brilliant success of The Woman in Black, I was disappointed with the show as the lights faded. The Gorilla Theatre is a great place for intimate local theatre. This was not their best show but it won’t take away anything from Gorilla Theatre's reputation of top tier performance quality.

Christmas Trio plays through December 20th at the Gorilla Theatre. For more information please click here. Tickets start at $20 depending on the night.

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