Curtains Up Winnipeg

In this production, actor Tom Rooney switches between a staggering number of parts to tell a story of how Rogers communications is actually worse than you could have imagined. Yes, even after being switched between operators for forty five minutes because you want to make a miniscule change to your cell phone plan. In front of a set that suggests both a board room and also literal hell, the actor fleshes out the intersection between family and corporate dramas whose result is consumer helplessness and lack of choice. Isn’t free market economy capitalism delightful?

It’s worth saying right now up front that I am emphatically not the intended audience for this play. My personal politics made it hard for the ideas in this show to line up. If you want to know more about why, I’ll be discussing them more today at 16:40 on Envol Radio with Skylar Bélanger.

To the credit of playwright Michael Healey, the script does an excellent job of breaking down big economic concepts, like the role of competition and created scarcity. At the beginning of the show the screens show that this is not a work of journalism but a work of fiction; I would argue that it still carries the feeling and weight of investigative reporting. The storytelling is just that, a lot of telling and informing about what has gone on with the feeling that this is capital T Truth as opposed to an artistic rendition. This is contributed to by the set, which leaves you feeling like you are on a conference call you can’t get out of. It’s like being in the audience of a presentation, albeit a well done one, that you aren’t sure if you signed up for. It seems like the intention is to use the tools of the corporate world against it, but it still read as the corporate world.

One of the main themes of the show is that the personal issues of Edward Rogers with his father contributed to the corruption. The story as they present it follows the familiar tropes of emotionally abusive distant father resulting in an entitled socially maladjusted child. The backhanded dealings and relationship with the board contribute to a climate where the theoretical checks and balances are incapable of working. At the same time, the show also shines a line on how the federal government is implicated in this mess. A sad little boy who wants his dad’s attention is one thing, but it only means something once his power moves are backed up by big institutions.

I won’t give any spoilers, but I found the last scene of the show incredibly problematic to have on stage.

What is clear is that this show hit a chord with a lot of the audience the night I was there, judging by the number of standing ovations. If you are someone who likes to look at systems and is interested in ideas of competition and economics, this will speak to you. If you enjoy Mark Carney’s speeches and market analysis, this show will appeal to you. It probably has a similar appeal to tv shows about lawyers and people trying to Get Ahead – and there are lots of people who like these things. It wasn’t for me, but then again there are a lot of shows out there that are. We should all have stuff that makes us happy on stage.