Midsummer is an endearing romantic comedy
Midsummer (a play with songs)
(out of 4) Written by David Greig and Gordon McIntyre. Directed by Tamara Bernier Evans. Until May 28 at Tarragon Theatre, 30 Bridgman Ave. TarragonTheatre.com or 416-531-1827 Don’t get this romantic comedy confused with the Shakespeare tale of unrequited love, fairies and an enchanted forest. This is not A Midsummer Night’s Dream; it’s more of a Midsummer Weekend’s Bender.
But there are some parallels. Instead of two couples resisting fate it’s just one; the forest has been replaced with the streets of Edinburgh and the mind-altering potion of choice is alcohol.
Midsummer (a play with songs) might draw comparisons to another popular musical and film, Once, in its U.K. setting, its combination of dialogue and music and its star-crossed lover protagonists.
This time it’s Helena, a lonely, single lawyer with a love of wine, and Bob, a failed writer who now makes a living doing odd jobs for Scotland’s crime lords.
In fact, there are elements in Midsummer by playwright David Greig and composer Gordon McIntyre that can be found all over the romantic comedies that Helena (Carly Street) watches.
Of course, the self-awareness of Midsummer allows Helena to riff on that idea for the audience. According to her, she and new interest Bob (Brandon McGibbon) are unlike the typical rom-com pair because they agree on everything.
The storytelling aspects are the strength of Greig’s script, even if it’s a story that’s become clichéd on the big screen, from Helena and Bob’s meet-cute at a wine bar — Helena’s been stood up by her married boyfriend and Bob morosely reads Dostoyevsky — to the final moment that sends them on a life-changing ferry ride.
McIntyre’s songs, which go from describing a bad hangover to Bob’s desire for a long-term relationship (sung to him by his own erection), aid the storytelling, along with jumps in time, inner monologues and an existential trip into Bob’s brain as he turns 35.
Along with the humour and humiliation that are standard in any romcom, Greig’s script underlines a fledgling romance with the cynicism and anxiety that comes with aging.
In Tamara Bernier Evans’ production, which puts Helena and Bob on a sparse stage with four trunks and various props (set design by Graeme S. Thomson), Street and McGibbon seem to be taking their show on the road, playing nicely into a theme built throughout the story.
Even after the curtain call, Bernier has them pack up the mess of costume pieces on the stage instead of heading immediately backstage. You could easily imagine this pair on the Fringe circuit, which would have been another layer to experience at the play’s premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2009.
But as the second to last production in Tarragon Theatre’s season, it’s a light, funny, endearing show featuring two charming performers, especially Street, who shines as Helena in her most pathetic moments and also nails her sarcastic humour.
This is a taste of what’s to come before the summer festival season begins in earnest and the Toronto Fringe arrives in July.
Midsummer has the polish that festival productions don’t always have, but the joy and spontaneity that other seasonal fare sometimes lacks.