Siffat Haider, Contributor
Whether it be child prodigies or quirky abilities like body contortion, I always try to appreciate specialized talents. So when the topic of the U of T Drama Festival came up, I was quick to review a play. At the Festival, the idea is for different Colleges to present student-written, -directed, -produced and -performed plays, and at the end of the Festival there is an awards ceremony. As much as I would love to sugarcoat this artsy student utopian dream and say it completely lived up to my expectations, I was pretty disappointed.
On Thursday night, I made my way to Hart House to watch Trail of Embrace by UTM. In retrospect, I probably shouldn’t have measured anything UTM-related up to St. George standards, but alas, that was just my optimism making an appearance. The plot revolved around a girl who was stuck in her memories, constantly reminiscing about her past relationships. An audience member should never have to dig for words to summarize a play’s plot unless the play uses or revolves around existentialist concepts, which this one did not. There was so much happening at once that it took me about half the play to understand what was happening. Although the plot was relatable – who hasn’t had a failed relationship? – it was sloppily executed. In terms of the actual performance it was also let down. Before watching the play I’d had a chance to read the director’s notes, in which she said that her biggest problem was character development. She was completely right. The main character was superficial and one-dimensional: she had one tone for every emotion, very Britney Spears á la Crossroads.
And yet, I give kudos to the students who tried their hand at it. Playwriting isn’t easy, and I commend them for attempting that difficult task. This one failed, but they get an “A” for effort.
You must feel very embarassed that you wrote this review
Posted by Anonymous | March 13, 2012, 11:13 PMYou are blind to talent. But keep trying, maybe one day you’ll open your eyes and see that the Trail of Embrace was beyond inspiring and completly professional …
Posted by Anonymous | March 13, 2012, 11:11 PMI can’t even begin to disagree with this article…
Posted by Anonymous | March 2, 2012, 2:01 AMI couldn’t disagree with you more! I find it very concerning that you spent half of the play trying to understand what was happening… as not only was the acting AND writing phenomenal but there was a synopsis that you confessed to have read in advance. I also question your opinion as you referenced Brittany Spears. Not only did the play have an outstanding review from the adjudicator, but it won the majority of the awards including viewer’s choice! It was a beautiful work of art. You are apparently the only one that thinks it “failed” so I am assuming you are not well versed in the theatre world…as proven by your review.
Posted by Anonymous | February 29, 2012, 6:53 PMWhether it be child prodigies or quirky abilities like body contortion, I always try to appreciate specialized talents. However, when I heard someone had written a review about the “Trail of Embrace” I was intrigued and interested to see what was written, but alas that just my optimism making an appearance. I wonder why you felt this way about the play even reading the directors notes. Not being a regular “play go-er” I had nothing to compare this to, but yet I was still able to recognize half the people crying in the theatre after the play, and the adjudicator’s praise. I understand that it might be easy to miss this but yet even on the night of the award ceremony the play still took 3 out of the five awards. So I seem to have some difficultly recognizing why you said this was a failure. It was a good try at a review but next time I highly suggest watching the play instead of being caught up in “St. George standards” as one should never compare in a review. However a give you a “A” for effort for trying.
Posted by Anonymous | February 29, 2012, 6:53 PM