In The Chamber 2010

In The Chamber 2010 made me violently throw up.

Maybe that’s a little harsh for opening up this review, but it is truthful. Half way through the Gordon Tanner’s Last Man in Krakendorf a sudden urge came over me, whether it be from the oppressive heat of the crowded Rachel Browne Theatre or the Subway sandwich that I had just eaten, and I had to make a quick exit from the theatre. So In the Chamber 2010 didn’t actually make me throw up, but honestly missing out on the second half of Tanner’s monologue wasn’t that big of a deal to me at that point.

Enough talk of my digestive issues. Instead, I guess I should discuss what brought me to the Rachel Browne Theatre on a balmy Thursday in January. In the Chamber 2010, is a two part production featuring two monologues written by their performers. This year is the fifth installment of the Theatre Projects Manitoba production and it showcases two pieces, Last Man in Krakendorf by Gordon Tanner and Last Man in Puntarenas by Steven Ratzlaff.

Theatre Projects Manitoba describes the event as, “a series for the artistic daredevils we love! We ask our brave artists to get personal with their writing…let it all hang out on stage.”

There is definitely some truth to this. Both pieces are extremely personal and you can tell that both Tanner and Ratzlaff are both heavily emotional invested in them. Whether the two live up to the title of “artistic daredevil”, well, that depends on the expectations of each audience member. I went in with little expectations and came away thinking, “Wow, you have to be pretty ballsy to go out and perform an hour long monologue.”

That is the strong point of the whole production, two actors stepping out in front of an audience and brilliantly navigating their way through an hour of just talking to themselves. Tanner is outstanding in his piece. He’s got a lot of charisma and appears quite natural on the stage. Ratzlaff isn't quite as smooth as Tanner, but he is impressive none the less.

Beyond the excellent acting, the two pieces were never able to hold my interest for too long. Last Man in Krakendorf deals with a man who is in a crisis, both personally and professionally. He has begun to question the values of his employer and his own personal values. A fire at a hog barn has made the man reach his breaking point and he spends his time in a hotel room, filming a confessional for his employer, Warren Buffet.

Unfortunately, I can only give you a review of the first half of the piece because of my aforementioned stomach issues, but I can tell you from what I saw, it was hard to keep track of and all over the place. Tanner’s bombastic style cann’t hold the piece together, as scatterbrain writing tears it apart. I started to tune out when Tanner made a joke regarding 9/11. The joke was extremely out of place and the saying “too soon” definitely still applies.

The second piece of the evening, Last Man in Puntarenas, features Ratzlaff giving a wandering, bitter speech at a retirement dinner. He discusses the loss of his child to unskilled hands of a pediatric surgeon and the event’s fallout. Ratzlaff rails against the medical system for taking away a person’s right to sorrow. He quickly alienates and offends everyone at his table, who begin to drop like flies.

Ratzlaff gives a strong performance, but ultimately the piece is undone by a confusing and rambling script. Condos in Costa Rica, the Sinclair Inquiry, hookers, and cancer, Last Man in Puntarenas is all over the board and that is what undoes the piece.

The two pieces are connected by the theme of disillushionment and surrender. The two men are at odds with the world they live in. Prior to the two pieces is a brief introduction scene and reading from Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The scene is quite bizarre, so I won’t spoil it, but the reading ties the two plays together. Nietzsche’s “will to power” – overcoming one’s self plays heavily in the two pieces.

Overall, the two pieces of In The Chamber 2010 are overcome by boring, scatterbrain stories. Strong acting can’t overcome these shortcomings. But at least the actual play didn’t make me throw up.