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Jimmy -
Scottish Premiere and part of Six Stages Festival
Written, directed and performed - Marie Brassard
Company - Infrarouge Theatre from Canada
Venue - CCA Glasgow
Dates & Times - 16 & 17 Oct at 8pm
Reviewer - Chris Heiberg
Effortless ability to create theatrical magic
Jimmy is a homosexual hairdresser in love with a beautiful black man who
he about to kiss. However just as their lips are about to touch the American
general who is having this dream dies. His heart stops. And so Jimmy is
left in a state of bliss, about to kiss the man he loves for 50 years.
Until he is dreamed about by an actress, an actress who gives him breasts,
and makes him do unspeakable things in front of an audience. The fear
of revealing our desires and the fear of living out our dreams come together
to create a touching and haunting story that gradually worms further into
your soul.
This enticing show from Marie Brassard takes the whimsical fancy of what
happens to characters in dreams and teases out an amazing tour de force
that draws the audience deep into the world of dreams and desire. On a
tiny stage she creates realms of dark passion, that beautiful space where
dreams whisper life into hidden fantasies and flash them accross the sky
in puzzling but poignant patterns.
A frequent collaborator of Lepage, Brassard has the same seemingly effortless
ability to create theatrical magic. However this is close up magic. On
a tiny stage, with few props. just using a radio mike to enhance and distort
her voice, she wove her characters from the finest of details, hand guestures
and inflections traced contours as her mesmering voice and beautiful writing
drew us in.
It was an indication of how deep she had dragged the audience that when
the show seemingly stopped for a technical hitch, which was apologised
for by Brassard, and ultimately ad- libbed out of, the audience were divided
as to whether it was a scripted deliberate intervention or an amazing
improvisation.
Ultimately this show is one frustrating to describe. To catalogue the
details is to miss the point, just as so often our recollection of a dream
seems to miss out some vital component. However it is a testament to her
skill and creativity that the show lingered in the memory with the same
afterglow as dream. And made me hurry to dream again.
© Chris Heiberg 16 October 2002. - Published on EdinburghGuide.com
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