Review: Northern Light Theatre’s Monstress a haunting, gothic thriller

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Walking to my car after Trevor Schmidt’s Monstress, I admit to being freaked out. I was alone, it was dark and windy, my vehicle was blocks away. Were there monsters? If so, where would they be hiding? Surely not here, so close to the bookish comfort of the Old Strathcona library.

I needn’t have worried. As I clicked the lock of my 2011 Honda Civic after first checking the darkened backseat for intruders (imagine being trapped inside my own car, a Black Christmas moment if ever there was one), I reminded myself of Schmidt’s premise in Monstress: the outside world is not the problem. The monster, in fact, is us.

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A world premiere, Monstress is another of Schmidt’s elegant odes to the black and purple season. Not only has he written the story, he is directing it and also designed both the set and costumes. Like earlier Northern Light season openers such as Baroness Bianka’s Love Songs and We Had a Girl Before You (the latter another Schmidt-crafted and gothic treatment), the thriller debuts near Hallowe’en, as the earth turns its back on the sun. Some of us mark the season by hauling bags of dead leaves into the back alley. Others take dead bodies deposited on the front steps and bring them back to life.

So it is with Schmidt’s heroine in Montress, a tortured soul known only as The Doctor (Sydney Williams). The first woman ever admitted to The Upper Harrington Academy of Anatomical Dissection and School of Medicine and Surgery, she’s been expelled for “dangerous dabbling” involving deceased frogs. It was humiliating. When Colonel Griffen-Symes, a wealthy man with a beautiful, but definitely stiff, daughter offers swaths of cash for resurrecting The Body (Julia Van Dam), The Doctor leaps at the chance for redemption.

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But as The Body itself astutely notes, creating a revenant is a complicated business. The margins can get blurry.

“When you brought me back, something came with me,” says The Body.

But what? Monstress sets out to examine the God complex that afflicts certain doctors. The play also deals with the tricky question of what it means to resurrect the past. Indeed, when the play opens, it seems The Body died after a riding accident. But as the story progresses, the injuries appear inconsistent with being tossed from the back of a horse. The Colonel begins to look a little less like a grieving father, and The Doctor finds herself in the role of a conflicted mother. She falls in love with her own creation, but she also has expectations for The Body. When those expectations are not met, The Doctor assumes the hysterical countenance of a new mom who hasn’t had nearly enough sleep.

“There are consequences,” she shrieks when The Body behaves badly, spitting out her food and refusing to cooperate like a good girl.
Williams and Van Dam are a talented duo, each mounting convincingly passionate performances. But it’s Schmidt who sets the mood in a masterful fashion. Entering the smoky theatre to the sound of Warren Zevon’s Werewolves of London is like walking into a really good theme party. A fixture dangling with dozens of pairs of scissors is suspended from the ceiling; potions and medical instruments dot the stage.

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At the back of the Studio Theatre is a huge and arresting painting — a feminine riff on the Renaissance-era nude Vitruvian Man, made famous by artist and scientist Leonardo di Vinci. The painting is a gorgeous mirror to The Body as it first appears in Monstress, dressed only in a nude body stocking. Later, The Body dons a frothy purple negligee that descends from the dark rafters, an extravagant contrast to the more sedate, but colour-coordinated purple and green dress and vest worn by The Doctor. (The green and purple crocheted snoods worn by the characters are a nice mother/daughter touch.)

The sound design by Dave Clarke is suitably creepy (you’ll be twitching reflexively at a certain repeated special effect) and a chilling complement to Larissa Poho’s work with the lights. For the 90 minutes of Monstress, you are in another place and time. When it’s over, you’ll find yourself relishing the relief from narrative tension.

Still, it might be wise to have someone with you on the long walk back to your car.

REVIEW

Northern Light Theatre’s Monstress, a world premiere

Written and directed by: Trevor Schmidt

Featuring: Sydney Williams and Julia Van Dam

Where: Fringe Theatre Arts Barns 10330 82 Ave.

When: Until November 23

Tickets: Available from $25 at northernlighttheatre.com or by calling 780-471-1586.

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