When you think of a theatre, you think of a typical stage, simple props, and rows of seats in front. When you see Pulp Fiction - Live!, take all your assumptions and throw them out of the window! Playing at the Kathedral, 651 Queen St. West is one of the most innovative and audience satisfying shows to hit Toronto.
The story surrounding the dark/comedy/thriller/drama/sarcasm-filled and witty Pulp Fiction is about justice served, couples in love, the duality of life, and of good people making it in the finish. Stories intersect about a pair of hit men taking care of business, one of whom who is asked to escort his boss' wife out for a night on the town; a dreary boxer who finds himself faced with a disturbing situation; and a pair of mentally crazed lovers who decide to rob the diner they have just eaten in.
Pulp Fiction - Live! directed by Andre Davey, and based on the groundbreaking Quentin Tarantino screenplay, is set inside the dimly lit Kathedral venue, a place most known for it's outrageous gothic raves and rock concerts. The audience is seated in a cluster among small tables and chairs in the centre of a large room, while in each corner there is set up an extravagant display of a scene setting. Large pieces of furniture decorate the setting's floors, and the walls are coated with creative showings of paint, wallpaper, photographs, and artwork, allowing each corner of the room to have its own individual scenery. This helps the audience to differentiate how and where each character is and what they are there to do.
It's an invigorating feeling to be seated four feet away from an actor throughout a scene, as the actor cries and yells in anguish, nearly missing you with his spit and sweat droplets. You can see a clear view of the character's actions and realize how much respect you have for them because of how difficult it must be for an actor not to get distracted by the audience when they are so close. I was impressed by how focussed each actor was, because their eyes never left the character in front of them. Usually during a theatre performance, the actors are usually not so accessible to the audience, so it was refreshing to feel like you were actually part of the scene the actors were in.
The acting was absolutely sensational. The entire cast had electric chemistry, which you tell by how well the dialogue flowed between each character, and how strong eye contact was held, and how each body movement such as engulfing a character in a hug or tossing a dance partner over their back, was perfectly timed, and well paced. The actors were basically a collective of "unknowns", but that's why they had so much appeal, because you had no idea what to expect. I was stunned by well they burst with emotion, how they could line-for-line remember five minutes worth of dialogue when it was their character's turn to speak, and how they weren't afraid to perform right into the audience and use the entire room as their stage.
Another unfortunate circumstance that the actors might face throughout their Toronto run at the Kathedral is being compared to the 1994 Tarantino film's characters. It must be difficult to try to bring a whole new take to a character that was based on a film, especially one as popular as Pulp Fiction was. Being an actor in a play based on a film could make you wonder if you're being compared to a Hollywood heavyweight by the audience, and that distraction must be very discouraging: 'Am I better or worse than the film's character version?'
But if the cast of Pulp Fiction - Live! harbors any insecurities, they certainly didn't show it. I could feel the cool confidence that each actor radiated, they were alive and in their right environment.
One actor that I immediately took a liking to was the character of Vincent Vega, who John Travolta played in the film version, which was now taken over by Benny Min. Aside from looking very much like Travolta, and nailing his mannerisms (whether he meant to or not), he was charismatic and used his facial expressions to a high degree. He would react with plenty of impact, and say his lines fluidly and clearly, so much so that at some points I forgot that this actor was reciting lines from a script. He made it look easy.
Despite the play using the same characters for the film in the play, they have taken a different approach on which gender they cast for which role. It definitely injected the play with an empowering twist, by doing gender reversals. Many of the male characters we saw in the 1994 film were now replaced in the play, by women. One character in particular was Bruce Willis' character, Butch Coolidge, who was played convincingly as a woman by Nadine Jackson. She definitely left the audience in awe as she rhythmically moved during her boxing match scene, sliced and diced with a samurai sword, and fought against a taller and more muscular man with energy to spare. I had to resist the urge to jump up and yell: "You go, girl!"
Be warned that this theatre show is not for the faint of heart. The script is filled with profanity and crass slang. The scenes have sudden loud eruptions of bullet noises, fake blood, explicit violence and two startling scenes with the raw use of sex. Although if you can handle watching an R-rated movie at home, then this should be a piece of cake. The only difference is that the R-rated moments are happening virtually right next to you!
Contributed by Em
Genre:Live_theatre-action
Director:Mandrepheus_Androgen
Starring:Derrek_Peels,Nadine_Jackson,Sarah_Riley
Rating: 6.5/10
So. Picture your favourite movie. Think of the characters, the plot, the locations, and the sheer amount of dollars that went into making it.
Now imagine someone taking that movie, twisting a few details to add a commentary on society, and putting it on as a live theatre piece.
Well I don’t know how that would make you feel, but I was sure as hell nervous when I went to Third Floor Reilley’s tonight to see a preview for Purple Octogon Theatre's Pulp Fiction - Live!
By the end of the first act, my fears were assuaged. This was a really creative team who knew how to utilise their space and make the most of the club atmosphere. They weren't missing a theatrical environment at all - they ran with what they had and did a damn good job of it. They didn't limit their performance space by sticking only to the stage; instead, they used the entire venue and made the audience follow them around. The audience, myself included, was a bit lazy, but nonetheless the staging was really effective.
One actor I was highly pleased with was Derrek Peels, playing Marsellus Wallace. He was so good, in fact, that I was inspired to go up to him after the show and act like a fangirl. He had the tough attitude, the uncompromising presence, and the natural authority that made him perfect for the role.
There were a few rather significant changes made to the script. First off, both Butch and the Wolf were female. It gave a "Girl Power" feel to the entire performance, and celebrated the strength, power and beauty of self-assured, confident women. Of course... the changing of genders might not be anything so serious a message, as both women both definitely lent sex appeal to the performance. I'll be hones - when Butch, played by Nadine Jackson, gave her girlfriend Fabienne, played by Athena Guy, oral sex on stage while just in her underwear, it wasn't the social significance of having lesbians in the play that I was thinking of. Nor was I thinking about female empowerment when the Wolf, as portrayed by Sarah Riley, bossed around Vincent and Jules while wearing a tight leather outfit. The entire feminist side of the performance has a double meaning... was director Mandrepheus Androgon giving females their due, or simply cashing in on the lithe, fit bodies of his actresses? Regardless, both point hit home, and helped the show be the success it was.
The fight scenes were well choreographed, but done too slowly and safely for any degree of realism. I would have liked to see those fight scenes after they'd been run through, Italian style (a rehearsal technique where the actors do their parts as fast as is humanly possible), about ten times. I think there was a lot of potential in those scenes as all the actors are in fantastic shape, flexible, and probably dancers. Beautiful movements, and it's a shame they were wasted.
I wouldn't quite say that this performance brought my all-time favourite movie to life, but it brought the essence of what Pulp Fiction is about to life. A successful performance is never about emulating what someone else has done for you, but about taking what you have and reworking it until it is truly your own, and in that regard, I feel that Pulp Fiction - Live! was a complete success.