Everyone’s Afraid of Something

The lights dim. Teachers and parents hush, children hush their neighbours, and the theatre goes quiet. Night Light begins at the MTYP. Farley walks onto the stage set as a playground and tells us about the pressure she feels from her dad to get good grades. We learn she fears math, because she fears her father’s anger. The audience remembers back (whether the memory was stored days earlier or years earlier) to the fear they felt when they faced a scary math test or a scary parent, and together we really feel for Farley.

Enter Victor.

Victor walks by the play structure, and in an instant Farley snatches his backpack off his back. Farley, our first impression of the show and newfound friend, transforms before our eyes into a card-carrying, lunch-stealing, schoolyard bully. The scene unravels and we realize, in the way that Farley fears her dad, Victor fears Farley. Instead of feeling for the victim of the bully, we feel for both of them.

The play unravels and we learn the fears of three kids, Farley, Victor, and Victor’s little sister, and we learn along with them the different strategies for dealing with fear.

Here’s my favourite part; there was no cheesy “aha!” moment where all of their problem disintegrate. They experience success and failure, and, by the end of the show, they each learn to take control of their lives in spite of fear.

While some MTYP shows can easily entertain and teach all ages, this one is intended for children. The humour, the issues dealt with, and the language used are so relevant to children that it felt like a couple of kids were in on the writing process. The children in the audience were screaming and laughing along with each event. The little boy next to me was hollering, pointing, and half out of his seat like a football fan watching the Super Bowl.

Having said that, I enjoyed myself and felt braver as I walked back to my car to face the snowy roads and busy day ahead. You’ll enjoy it too, I’m sure. But, I would highly recommend you bring a child or pass the show’s info along to any parents you know. Any kid will benefit from this vivid and influential show.

Night Light is entertaining, applicable, and a must-see for Winnipeg children. It’s playing at 1pm and 6pm everyday through until Sunday. 

Post by Meghan Zahari and photos by Hubert Pantel for MYTP 

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Since she was little, Meghan has had a love for words and kept her nose firmly stuck in a book. Now, she’s a writer, a wife, and the owner of a pug and a puggle. She spends her days reviewing local ballet and theatre, writing all kinds of stories, running Concrete & Cloud, taking classes through University of Toronto, and doing projects and social media for a local chiropractor that promotes natural health.

www.meghan-zahari.com

No matter who we are, where we live, or when we live, the same sky hovers over all of our heads. The omnipresent sky was the inspiration behind Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s  “I on the Sky”, a dynamic, moving play that uses mime, gymnastics, and dance, to tell the story of a young woman who just arrived in a new country and finds refuge on a park bench. Yves Simard, the writer and director, explains that every time he arrives in a new place, he goes to a park to get to know his surroundings and to gaze at the sky, the same sky that is blanketing his family faraway. From that, a story of war, love, and isolation was born.

DynamO Théâtre’s acrobatics can be compared to Cirque de Soleil. The major difference being that every move is choreographed in line with the story, rather than the stunts being the main attraction. Though the play is presented at Manitoba for Young People, it tackles adult issues. Yet, the kinetic dynamic is so visually entertaining that it’s safe to say that any age would enjoy this show. The group of five actors seemed like a cast of twenty as they flew on and off the stage in tremendous acrobatic feats and a flurry of costume changes. The actors are light on their feet and stay in character the entire time, making the music, the movement, and the story flow into one.

The pace of the show never slows down and the audience is taken on a journey through the young woman’s memories that led her to her lonely place on the park bench. When the play started, I found myself confused, but after getting a glimpse into a few of her memories, everything began to come together. I began to realize that she was once engaged, belonged to a family and had escaped a war-torn country.

I won’t give too much away because I think you should go. Go for the acrobatics, go for the beautiful story, and go for the reminder that no matter where you are or who you’ve left behind, the sky will always be the same.

Post by Meghan Zahari and photos by MTYP 

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Since she was little, Meghan has had a love for words and kept her nose firmly stuck in a book. Now, she’s a writer, a wife, and the owner of a pug and a puggle. She spends her days reviewing local ballet and theatre, writing all kinds of stories, running Concrete & Cloud, taking classes through University of Toronto, and doing projects and social media for a local chiropractor that promotes natural health.

www.meghan-zahari.com