Jan. 18, 2007
North York Mirror
The inmates really do run the asylum in Dale Wasserman's powerful play One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
The play, first seen on Broadway in 1964, later became an Oscar-winning film staring Jack Nicholson.
It's the third offering this season by Stage Centre Productions, and the company maintains its high standards with this staging, designed and directed by L.Garth Allen.
Allen has wisely coaxed each of the residents into a different playing style in the opening scenes to help emphasize their disparate personalities. Gradually, with the arrival of patient Randal P. McMurphy, they coalesce into a unified group determined to undermine the authority of the tightly wound Nurse Ratched.
Debbie Yuen's whipped-cream and knives portrayal of the nurse who doesn't liker her authority questioned is one of the wonders of this production. The way the piece is written she could be viewed as the villain, but her portrayal is one so dominated by control and order that even if you don't sympathize, you at least understand where she is coming from.
The same is true if the protagonist; Mr. McMurphy played with wily charm by Danny Sullivan. His refusal to take anything seriously, coupled by a determination to challenge all forms of authority, makes him a natural enemy of Nurse Ratched and when the two lock horns the theatrical fireworks begin.
Still, one of the most touchingly realistic scenes occurs between him and Lawrence Stevenson as presumed deaf and dumb Native Chief. It is in this sequence that the two actors find the heart in Wasserman's play.
Brad Emes plays Billy, the mother-smothered inmate whose only "problem" seems to be a stutter that impedes his ability to connect with others. When he crumbles under Nurse Ratched's withering gaze, it's a moment of pure pathos.
Although serious and dramatic, the play is also loaded with hilarity. The poker games led by Will van der Zyl as patient Dale Harding sparkle with Frank Keenan as Cheswick and Bryan Stanish as Martini keeping the scene crackling with humour.
Erin Jones and Sandra Fragale add to the humour with their second act appearances as a couple of floozies smuggled in for an evening entertainment by Mr. McMurphy.
Allen has designed the stage to effectively offer a large open space for the group scenes, yet several smaller boxes where more intimate scenes can be played. It's all enhanced immeasurably by the lighting, which is effective without in any way drawing attention to itself.
The theme of non-conformists in a conforming society has been a particular favourite of playwrights over the years, but few plays have effectively played one against the other, as does Dale Wasserman in this provocative piece.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest continues at Fairview Library Theatre until Saturday, Jan. 27. Performances are at 8 p.m. Jan. 18 to 20 and 24 to 27 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Jan. 21.