Every Exit is an evening of theatre made up of two short plays and a monologue loosely connected by the exploration the life and/or legacy of William Shakespeare. The most successful piece is The Happiest Hour, a tale of unrequited love where a socially inept professor (Ken MacDonell) woos a Shakespearean scholar (Louise Daoust) with flowers and snippets of poetry. The play itself is gentle and perhaps a bit predictable, but the performances are at times charming. The second play, For Now, is an imagining of Shakespeare’s last day. The piece deals with situations that cry out for the actors to express intense sadness, but it is a tragedy that gets played as a comedy to its detriment. The monologue, Websterio, shows potential, but unfortunately it seemed like opening night jitters were causing actor Shayne Taylor to rush his delivery so that a lot of the words were lost. Still, the evening showed the promise of good things to come, and it looks like Halifax can look forward to more interesting and affordable theatre from The Birmingham Porch Theatre Collective.
Every Exit runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8pm at The Space, 2353 Agricola St (near the commons).Tickets are $8. Call 406-6262.
