Ordena Stephens-Thompson, Sophia Walker and Chelsea Russell in ‘Fairview’, Photo by John Lauener
It’s rare that a theatrical event so thoroughly pulls the rug out from under me. I’ve come to cherish these innovative, discomfiting experiences and I’m glad I didn’t know anything about Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama ahead of time.
Fairview, presented by Canadian Stage and Obsidian Theatre, starts off feeling fun and familiar, perhaps a little generic. Jawon Kang’s set is an impressive and imposing space. This living room feels luxurious yet distinctly neutral, even vaguely false. In it, an affluent and eccentric Black family prepares for a birthday dinner for the unseen grandmother. At the top, we are given an eerie clue that something’s amiss—a very David Lynch-ian flash of electrical arcing and glitch in the stereo—before we’re launched into what feels like a sit-com scenario. Continue Reading