7 Stories

Morris Panych’s 7 Stories opens with a dapperly dressed man (Tom Barnett) balancing precariously on the edge of a ledge. There’s no doubt that he’s contemplating suicide, but discovering the crisis that has brought him there is only a very small part of the play. Instead, we’re introduced to the delightfully zany and self-involved characters that appear at the seven windows beside him. Most of them don’t even bother to ask why he’s there, but instead regale him with problems from their amusingly troubled lives. The characters include a paranoid psychiatrist (Murray Furrow), a mistress who finds hate more exciting than love (Ingrid Rae Doucet), an actor who’s prepared to play one role for the rest of his life (Christian Murray) and a very wise and sympathetic old woman (Jackie Torrens) who eventually helps the play to an unexpected conclusion. Funny and touching, these are stories that are served well by these fine comic actors and Panych’s playwriting panache. –Kate Watson