Above, clockwise from top left: Dark Owl's Delcia (Léa Rondot), Flora (Holly Gauthier-Frankel), Nicolas (Dan Jeannotte) and Amandine (Catherine Lemieux). Photo courtesy of Tableau d'Hôte TheatreLaval Goupil's Djibou, translated by Glen Nichols and directed by Jessica Abdallah, explores the dysfunction behind a fishing town family isolated from the community and themselves over a rape, a nightmare they're about to relive as if their lives are stuck in a twisted loop where gray hairs multiply as their lives pass them by.
Originally written in Chiac, a French-English mish-mashed dialect unique to New Brunswick's Acadian population with traces in France, Abdallah had her heart set on presenting the play in English heavy with Chiac dialogue, though her first experience directing the play was in plain English.
Starring a lead-less, complementary cast -- a special shout out to Liz Burns' Victorine, Dan Jeannottes's Nicholas and Léa Rondot's Delcia -- I have to admit that even though I'm fluently bilingual, I sometimes misunderstand words pronounced in thick joual accents, particularly ones I rarely get to hear. Like Chiac. Yet I can't imagine watching Dark Owl without Chiac, even though I lost the plot halfway through the second part of the play, as did my evening companion, which took away from the experience. Not that I care if I miss a few words here and there, it's just, I missed too many to appreciate the play's metaphors and climax. I would be writing a very different review had I been familiar with the basic plot line and key developments beforehand or had access to surtitles. Why didn't I Google the script ahead of time? I did, but came up empty-handed.
So my advice to you is ... go see the play. Maybe you'll have less dialogue dropouts than I did, but if you didn't catch the foreshadowing on what the Dark Owl is supposed to be by intermission, or if you're just a little lost but think you can manage the second part, don't wing it unaided. Ask staff to explain what's going to happen in the second part. Again, bilingualism is a must if you want to enjoy this play.
A Tableau d'Hôte Theatre production, Dark Owl runs through November 28. Tickets $23, $17 students, 2 for 1 on Sunday, November 21. At MainLine Theatre (map).
In line with About.com's and the New York Times Company's full disclosure policy, readers should be aware that the writer was provided with complimentary tickets for the purpose of reviewing Dark Owl, a common procedure in the entertainment industry. Also note that the latter gratuity has not influenced this review. For more information on full disclosure at About.com, please consult our ethics policy.
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