REVIEW
What: The Children鈥檚 Republic
Where: Belfry Theatre
When: Until Oct. 8
Tickets: $20-$53 (plus GST)
Reservations, info: 250-385-6815
Rating: Three and a half stars (out of five)
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With an ugly new wave of hatred making headlines in the United States, Hannah Moscovitch鈥檚 retooled version of her Second World War drama The Children鈥檚 Republic has acquired newfound relevance.
That is apparent in director Christian Barry鈥檚 artfully staged production of the Canadian playwright鈥檚 lean, quietly unsettling update of her 2009 play, inspired by Dr. Janusz Korczak.
The pediatrician and children鈥檚 rights advocate cared for hundreds of orphaned and abandoned children in a Jewish orphanage in Poland before and during the Second World War.
One of the most significant elements in this new production, which opened at the Belfry on Thursday, is Camellia Koo鈥檚 set design, particularly the pitch-black walls that frame the action, set in what is essentially a prison-within-a-prison in the Warsaw Ghetto.
They鈥檙e an expansion of a key set piece 鈥� a movable chalkboard 鈥� where white chalk lettering provides descriptive details.
It states, for example, that the drama opens in 1940 and that 鈥�400,000 Jews [were] sealed with brick walls and barbed wire鈥� in the Warsaw Ghetto.
While chalk scribblings can easily be erased, Moscovitch suggests, such observations must never be brushed off.
It鈥檚 not until Act 2 that we learn the initially puzzling significance of two words on the blackboard 鈥� Like Chalk.
It鈥檚 a disturbing revelation, a cool creative flourish that the play, which unfolds as a series of vignettes punctuated by fadeouts, could have used more of.
Clocking in at just over two hours, The Children鈥檚 Republic creatively captures the personalities and shifting dynamics of Korczak, his no-nonsense assistant, Stef, and four of the many young charges he would follow to the death camps after the Nazi invasion.
It must be noted that the action in the expository shorter first act is less emotionally involving than in the more dramatic second.
Moscovitch wisely lets us fill in most of the historical blanks, assuming knowledge of the horrors of war that Korczak, using compassion and humour to cope with his despair, attempts to shield the children from while providing structure in a world devoid of freedom.
Barry has extracted impressive performances from his solid cast. Paul Rainville persuasively portrays Korczak without deifying him, whether delivering observations such as 鈥渒ids are morally malnourished鈥� or quips, as when he discovers one of his charges reading the Torah: 鈥淚s it any good?鈥� He portrays the character鈥檚 emotional anguish with admirable restraint.
On at least one occasion, Rainville鈥檚 upbeat disposition also recalls a memorable sequence from the film Life is Beautiful.
In a comparatively thankless role, Kerry Sandomirsky is also dramatically affecting as his nagging, but pragmatic, assistant.
The kids are more than all right in this production, each young actor meticulously delineating his or her character鈥檚 traits.
Lily Cave, who gets to briefly showcase her singing talent, is a standout as Mettye, exuding a combination of pluckiness and maternal instincts that emerge once she reluctantly welcomes a new arrival 鈥� a frail, malnourished young violin prodigy given a nicely understated performance by Sophia Irene Coopman. Cave鈥檚 sharp-tongued humour is another plus.
When Israel, a rebellious young hoodlum effectively played by Zander Eke, breaks her nose, for example, and she learns this troubled fellow is actually attracted to her, she snaps: 鈥淵ou like me? Don鈥檛 break my nose. Try something else.鈥�
Equally commendable is Simeon Sanford Blades as Misha, a sensitive, straight-shooting boy who secretly hoards scarce food items.
Another of this beautifully designed production鈥檚 creative hallmarks is the onstage presence of Sari Alesh, a Syrian refugee and professional musician whose haunting violin music underscores the drama and echoes Sara鈥檚 simulated violin-playing.
Barry creatively employs his gifted young cast to describe upcoming settings and action from behind a microphone in a style that recalls a vintage radio play, or descriptive video to augment chalkboard descriptions of the passage of time and so on.
Other assets include Koo鈥檚 rough-hewn period costumes, and Kaitlin Hickey鈥檚 striking lighting design, which works in tandem with Barry鈥檚 innovative use of the basic set. Shards of light beamed onto centre-stage next to the angled mobile chalkboard effectively depict an orphanage corridor, for instance.