PRESS CLIPPINGS

Adolescent insecurity can get ugly

Children's theatre review: Being bullied can be devastating for a child. Me me me serves as a solid reminder of how much it can hurt

Kathryn Greenaway - The Gazette
Sunday, February 18, 2007

Geordie Productions has invited DynamO Theatre to perform the Montreal, English-language debut of its world-travelled production me me me as part of Geordie's mainstage season. Friday's opening-night audience loudly approved.

Playwright Lise Vaillancourt was inspired to write the play about bullying after she learned both her brothers had been victims of bullying at school but had kept it a secret for years. Being physically bullied or bullied through exclusion from a group is devastating for a child. Me me me serves as a solid reminder of how much it can hurt.

DynamO uses few words and much movement to convey the story's arc. The action unfolds in a classroom with its familiar mix of students - the focused overachiever, the messy alpha-male, the determined new arrival and the class clown. Watching from the sidelines with fatherly concern is the janitor (played by the thoroughly likable Charles Gaudreau).

Classroom dynamics are smooth at the beginning of the school day until the focused Mathilda (Mariflore Veronneau) is praised by the teacher and given a trinket as a reward. The mood begins to shift. The other students resent her and act on their envy by calling her names. Things escalate quickly until the line is divided and she is excluded from the group. Motivated by frustration, insecurity, a drive to belong, the group turns their collective back. Adolescent insecurity can get ugly.

Mathilda is left alone and confused.

The narrative's core message is serious, indeed, but the atmosphere is never hateful. Instead, and helped considerably by Frederic Desager's melancholy music, you watch with a soft sadness as the students struggle to do whatever it takes to be a member of the group. In the end, Mathilda does pack her school bag and leave for good. But the story ends with a ray of hope. To tell you more would ruin the magic moment.

The company has toured me me me extensively and the cast is comfortable with the task at hand. Mixing playful acrobatics with serious messages could become ungainly in the wrong hands, but DynamO, under the direction of Robert Dion, manages to deliver both the message and the physical fun, without compromising on either front.

This is the first time Geordie Productions has invited a local francophone troupe to perform an English version of a popular play. What a great idea. Let's do it again next season.

Geordie Productions presents DynamO Theatre's me me me at D.B. Clarke Theatre, 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., Feb. 24 at 3 p.m. and Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. For ticket info, 514-845-9810 or www.geordie.ca

kgreenaway@thegazette.canwest.com

Copyright © The Gazette (Montreal) 2007. All rights reserved.