Anna in the Tropics in Newfoundland
Beothuck Street Players brings the Tropics to St. John's this Spring
May 25, 2009
Beothuck Street Players, a community theatre group based in St. John's, Newfoundland, continued their tradition of staging award winning contemporary theatre this week with its production of Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics. BSP was formed in 1995 and has since staged productions of much loved plays including Buried Child, Long Day's Journey into Night and Death of a Salesman.
Tolstoy Lends a Hand
The 2003 Pulitzer Prize winning Anna in the Tropics is set in a 1929 Cuban cigar factory in Tampa, Florida where cigars are still hand rolled and “lectors” are hired to educate and entertain employees. After the death of their elderly lector, a family run factory is turned on its head when young,charming Juan Julian arrives to enchant them with Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.
First time director Jill Kennedy says she “fell in love with Anna while visiting Florida last summer,” and that while reading the script she “couldn't help making connections between Cuban-American experiences and our own.” This association between labour dependent Cubans and labour dependent Newfoundlanders resonates throughout the text with special consideration given to the meaning of changing skill sets, technology and reluctance to modernization. The hand-rolling factory workers in Cruz's script can indeed be referred to as the “tropical cousins” of Newfoundland's struggling fish-plant workers.
Clutter a Cause for Concern
The overall aesthetic of the play evokes Florida factory heat with a sand coloured cut out set. Lovely horizontal panel windows initially suggested creative lighting design though unfortunately were rarely utilized and obscured by a clutter of wash basins and cleaning tools. The instinct to employ water as an agent of sensuality was highly effective in communicating the sexual tension between, then lovers, Conchita (Janet Edmonds) and Juan Julian (George Robertson) though a more aesthetically pleasing placement of the basins would have been appreciated.
Even performances were given by a solid and reliable cast though the thrust of the piece was delivered by Edmonds and Robertson as two sweaty corners of the text's core love triangle. Thankfully, Kennedy did not require a Spanish accent throughout as pacing was staggered each time this courageous bunch earnestly tried to toss off the multiple Spanish names. Also, it became hard to ignore a somewhat “Star Wars-ian” section of the piece where the playwright seems to employ a Yoda like dialect.
- Ofelia: That's right, drink you shouldn't...
- Santiago: Yes, you're right. To the factory I need to go back.
A Brave Choice
All said, Anna in the Tropics was a brave choice for a directorial debut and highlights the importance of continuing to support community theatre. Beothuck Street Players has once again confirmed their exceptional taste in modern theatre and its upcoming production of Tuesdays with Morrie promises to be a real tear jerker.
Beothuck Street Players presents Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie by Jeffery Hatcher and Mitch Albom this September 16-19 at the St. John's Arts and Culture Center.
