Gratitude
MainLine Theatre
3997 Blvd. St. Laurent
Continuing till December 2. 2018
Set in a high school locker room, and dealing with issues of rites of passage, dares, peer pressure and how teenagers can use sex as a weapon to dominate others, the play is extremely relevant to the larger story that is now unfolding across the front pages of our newspapers and media; the hazing and sexual assault taking place in St. Michael’s in Toronto.
Oren Safdie has once again written a timely and captivating play while co-directing a quartet of first rate actors. Each of these performers has extensive background in theatre, television, and films. Michaela Di Cesare plays the female lead in this coming of age drama. Patrick Emmanuel Abellard is a 23 year old Montrealer who has acted in English and French television. He was recently seen in Centaur Theatre’s production, the Choir Boy. (Revued in this blog) Patrick Keeler despite his youth has been performing across Canada and the U.K. for almost 20 years. Laurent Pitre, also from Montreal, has proven himself to be a fine bilingual actor and has parts in a couple of 2019 Centaur Theatre productions. The play has serious sexual content throughout. Michaela is very comfortable in the extremely intimate venue and I believe her strongest performance is when she is in dialogue with Laurent. Kudos to the entire team.
