"In the Chamber"

Review of TPM’s “In the Chamber”

January 14-16
Theatre Project’s Manitoba
Rachel Brown Theatre

Image from Theatre Projects Manitoba's facebook page.


Writing a monologue is not an easy feat. Neither is performing one. On Friday night at the Rachel Brown Theatre, Gordon Tanner and Steven Ratzlaff displayed their talent for both. The two men performed the two monologues they wrote on the same theme as part of Theatre Projects Manitoba’s “In the Chamber” series, the 2010 edition. “In the Chamber” was well-staged, well-acted, and well-written, but it fell flat in the end, mainly because of the length of the monologues.

The performance had a strange and disturbing start involving an older middle-aged man and a prostitute in a bedroom scene, but one can’t say it didn’t get peoples’ attention.

The scene then switched to Tanner’s monologue, "Last Man in Universe Alpha-11”. Tanner played an employee of a large farming corporation. His disillusioned character, in the midst of a breakdown, appeals to Warren Buffet, an omniscient presence, asking for help with a broken system. The situation that sets him off, a conflagration at a large factory pig farm on a Hutterite colony, provides a relevant (an politically motivated) example for his audience. His musings about how we need to break out of harmful capitalist systems turn existential at times as he attempts to deal with the angst he feels about the lack of control he has over his own life. He realizes, in the end, that he is the only one that can help himself and regain control.

After a brief intermission, the audience is introduced to Ratzlaff’s character in "Last Man in Puntarenas”. His scene takes place at a restaurant in celebration of his character’s birthday. He makes a very long speech to his invisible guests, and offends many with his uncensored comments that come out seemingly uncontrollably. The subject matter parallels Tanner’s monologue, as Ratzlaff’s character also attempts to escape a system that failed his family and has left him in emotional turmoil since. He also uses a local example, making his character the father of a child who died and whose case was investigated in Winnipeg’s Health Sciences Centre Pediatric Coronary Surgery Inquest. He also rebels against the system in the end, refusing to receive medical treatment for a suspicious lump on his body.

Both actors were fabulous in their monologues. One has to appreciate the talent it takes to, as one man, captivate the attention of an entire audience for over an hour with mainly just words. Without the energy of other actors to feed off of, and with the only conflict present on stage being internal, it would be difficult to maintain energy, focus, and purpose. But Tanner and Ratzlaff executed their roles very well.

The scripts themselves were also very well written. Tanner’s had a more economical use of words, however. Ratzlaff’s script did not have the same effect as it ended up being bogged down with too many details, no doubt a result of all the research he put into writing it. However, it took too long to get to the point of the monologue, and the ending suffered as a result, as the audience seemed to lose focus at the end of the nearly three-hour performance.

The staging was quite strong. The shabby motel setting of Tanner’s monologue was well-designed in its mute colors and simplicity. The staging of Ratzlaff’s monologue was done very artistically. His dinner guests were blank, white balloons tied to the chairs, and Tanner played the other physical character in the scene, the waiter, who removed the balloons as the dinner guests dissipated throughout the performance. It also allowed both actors to be onstage, sharing a drink. Having the physical presence of both actors onstage together tied the two monologues together well.

While I appreciated the concept of “In the Chamber”, the performances were too long. Because there was no physical interaction or external character conflict until the very end, the monologues needed to be shorter, as it is much more difficult to captivate an audience alone.