The bad seed, 30 years on
Problem child returns to Varscona
While it can be gleefully fun to watch adult villains terrify and dismay, witnessing a child demonstrate the same evil behaviour is queasy-making.
The contrast between how children are perceived — innocent, without blemish — and how they are played — remember Damien in The Omen? — can leave consumers of entertainment feeling weak at the knees. Of course, sometimes the portrayals are simply cheesy (the character of Chase in the 1989 movie version of Stephen King’s Pet Sematary comes to mind). But at other times, child actors such as Linda Blair (who was 13 during her 1973 role in The Exorcist) lurk in the collective imagination for generations.
So when Lilla Solymos (last seen as the star of The Citadel’s February production of Matilda) takes to the stage in the latest Teatro La Quindicina production, The Bad Seed, she bears a weighty responsibility. The 1954 play (inspired by the book by William March and first mounted by Teatro three decades ago) has the potential to be dated, featuring a mother figure who’s more girl than woman, and a lot of talk about nature or nurture that has been discredited today.
Still, the creepy little Rhoda — who is suspected of killing a classmate named Claude after he wins a penmanship award she coveted — comes alive on the page. Her excellent manners, acquisitive nature and focus on shiny baubles combine to give the character a calculating edge that slowly brings goosebumps to the skin.
Solymos has played only sweet characters in her short career, which started at eight with Tiny Tim (three times) in The Citadel’s A Christmas Carol. The Rutherford resident, who just graduated from elementary school and is heading to Victoria School for Grade 7, took a break from rehearsals last week to speak to the Journal about evil genius, telling details, and coming from a talented family. This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
Q What are the challenges of playing a nasty little girl?
A It’s very interesting. It’s fun to be a little evil. But it’s a little hard because you have to stay serious for a long time, and then for Rhoda — one second she’s a perfect little girl and smiling and everything, and in the next second she’s mad, and not smiling at all and really angry and really creepy. And it’s really hard to do that.
Q How do you get into character?
A Well, it depends on the scene. When Rhoda is in a good mood, she’s all perfect and that’s a little easier for me because I’m the kind of person who smiles a lot, and she also smiles a lot when she’s in the presence of people who believe she’s perfect.
But other times, I’m just trying to act like a girl who thinks she’s doing what’s right. Like with the little boy with the (penmanship) medal, Claude, well, she thinks, ‘He didn’t give me the medal when I asked him, so I had to (hurt him). It wasn’t my fault.’ And when Leroy (the building handyman) asks me why I’m not sorry Claude is dead, I say: ‘Why should I feel sorry? It was Claude who got drowned, not me.’ And then she smiles and shuts the door in his face and it’s cool and creepy and I like it. The more I do it the more I get used to it. At first it was a little weird but now I’m getting the hang of it, so it’s a little easier.
Q When does the audience first get the feeling that something is not quite right with Rhoda?
A I think it’s in the first scene when Monica, the landlady, wants to give Rhoda a locket with a garnet in it, but first she’s going to switch the garnet out for another gem. But then Rhoda asks if she can have both the stones. Rhoda really wants the locket and gives her full attention to the locket. And her mom, Christine, is watching Rhoda and thinking, ‘There is something wrong with my child.’ That’s a hint. That’s weird behaviour.
I think it’s a very cool play and it’s very suspenseful. I think it’s worth coming to see.