Proud by Michael Healey - Off topic assignment post

This week's post is for a school assignment. I'll be back to talking about TV next week.

Hilarious is how I would describe my overall impression of the play Proud by Michael Healey. Being a political play, I really had no idea what to expect upon arriving at the Rachel Browne Theatre on Wednesday Nov 12. I didn’t do too much research before going, so I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw.

I think what stood out to me most was the character of Jisbella Lyth. She’s crazy! That was my first impression of her. But her outrageousness wasn’t so outrageous that it was unbelievable. I thought that Healey wrote her as a strong female character, which was essential to a play consisting of only three other male characters. Healey wrote her a lot of great one-liners, and I found myself cracking up at a lot of the things she said. I think her character was what surprised me most about the play because it was so unexpected. Daria Puttaert was great and brought this character to life for me.

The comedy in the writing was what I thought worked best in the play. The actors’ chemistry made all of the jokes believable, which helped bring me into the political world Healey wrote. Also, Ross McMillan’s portrayal of Prime Minister Stephen Harper was spot on. He nailed Harper’s mannerisms, which I think added a lot to the storyline. The actors’ interactions with each other, mixed with the comedy of the writing, made this play an enjoyable experience.

One thing I would have liked to see was a set change or two. I understand being in such a small venue why this would have been hard to do, but I think it would have helped to change it up even just a little bit. I also thought it was kind of awkward to have the character of Jake sit off to the side of the set while the other characters were in action on the other side. I understood the reasoning behind it, but I don’t think it would have caused too much of an issue to have him come out for his lines each time, or even to have some way to cover him up. I think this would make the play work even better.

I haven’t been to a political play before, as I’m more of a fan of musicals, but of the non-musicals I’ve seen, this play was similar to them. I have seen the no set change before, and I thought the same thing as I outlined above – not a huge fan. However, I liked that there were only four main characters, as I like to watch plays where I can get into the characters’ heads. I think Proud was written well enough that I got a sense for the characters, and I felt like I really got to know them.

I liked the talkback session because it allowed the audience to interact with the actors. It was interesting to learn about how they approached getting into character, and to hear their thoughts on the play. I think it definitely added to my experience at the play because I have never been to play that has had one of these sessions before. I thought it was a good discussion as there was such a variety of questions asked. I think all of the actors and the creative director provided well thought out answers to the questions asked of them.

I’m not sure the play affected me in any significant way. I did enjoy the satirical comment on Canadian politics though. While I’m not sure it’s super realistic, it was funny to watch the ridiculousness of the writing on stage.

Thanks for reading!

-Emily