PARIS PERFORMERS’ WOW AUDIENCE WITH PILLOWMAN by Rubyyy Jones

PARIS PERFORMERS’ WOW AUDIENCE WITH PILLOWMAN

Paris Performers’ Theatre is in the homestretch of their 30th Anniversary Season and their winter production ‘The Pillowman’ promised to be a dark and electric escape from the chilly weatherironic, considering how chilling this show truly was! I have had the pleasure of attending almost all of their 2022 shows so I was really curious and excited to see what Paris. Performers’ had in store for us with their first foray into 2023.

The Paris Fairgrounds Special Events Building was bustling when

we arrived, almost all the seats were filled; it was so exciting to see people supporting local and small by attending this community theatre event. Right from the top, the show was atmospheric, unsettling and stark, reflected fantastically in: the bold tonal set, the sharp lighting choices and in the confident handling of this charged script. The whole cast held this shocking and perplexing show with dedication and care, bringing heart and humour to even the blackest moments, and they all deserve shoutouts and aftercare: Connor McGrath, Nathan Farmer, Deanna Stevens, Michael Bedford, Sara Morrison, Nikole Beda, Georgia East and Nick De Bruyn; bravo for pushing hard and carrying such a weighty story all the way to it’s bleak end. Some fairytales have happy endings, this one most certainly does not.

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photo credit: Duncan Graham (director)

One of my favourite parts of the production were the various aspects of design throughout and full disclosure: my partner is a costumer designer and maker, and is the designer and maker of the Pillowman character, so I have had a few peeks at the process but I’m not gunna be bias in my recount! Without any bias, the Pillowman costume - expertly handled by Sara Morrison - designed and created by Prinx Lydia is a work of art and a thing of nightmares. The Pillowman character appeared only twice in the show, but that was enough because their presence was very effective. The set design, by director Duncan Graham, was sensational too, really highlighting the play’s themes of essentialism,

black and white thinking and the lines between good and evil. Visually, the show was stunning, and exactly what was needed to balance the very huge and heavy themes. It was really fascinating to see the story shift between the realtime interrogations of Katurian and the re-enactment of his stories, adding another strong visual component while delivering deep details, and McDonagh’s building and layering of the sad ways Katurian’s life and his stories started to blend and overlap, unraveling a whole world of horrors After two hours and forty minutes (including two intervals) we reached the cataclysmic end, there were no Princes with kisses to save the day or fairies with

twinkling wands to smote the corrupt, there was just crackling and cackling darkness and a bitter finale. I don’t know about you, but I don’t go to the theatre always wanting and expecting happily ever afters, I go to see the complexities of the human experience and the ways we are all so faceted, fragile and fearless I love that Paris Performers’ Theatre isn’t retreating from darkness in their choices, and is giving people theatrical experiences that aren’t easy, that require energy, presence and processing, it’s really exciting to see! Bravo to all involved for a very dramatic and well-rounded show!

photo credit: Duncan Graham (director)

Martin McDonagh’s ‘The Pillowman’ is a notorious show, in three terrifying acts, anchored around four main characters and supported by several dynamic storytellers, and the show centres around Katurian, a writer of gruesome tales who is arrested after some local crimes start to mirror his stories McDonaugh’s experience writing and re-writing his own fairytales is what led him to penning ‘The Pillowman’, and his uneasy tale highlights all the layers of those stories and how both fanciful and horrible they truly are behind the glass slippers and candy houses. This show is perfect for a freezing February outing because it requires a lot of focus and energy from the audience, this is and was a very intense, disturbing and macabre script and show.