Apple

I went to the Factory Theatre tonight to see the Toronto debut of Vern Thiessen's Apple. The image above is the publicity still--provocative, huh?

This was the story of a man, Andy, torn between his wife, Evelyn, and lover, Samantha; just as he's made the decision to leave his wife, she tells him she has cancer and he must decide to stay or go. Based on this brief outline, the symbolism of the tempting apple and the closeness to the couple's names to Adam and Eve, I expected a drama examining the theme of temptation and the difficult choice one is forced to make between one's desire and one's duty. What I got was another thing entirely.

I thought I would be sympathetic with Evelyn, but she was a complete bitch from the start. I expected the adulterous husband to at least have a backbone, but he was a weak loser who had just lost his job and couldn't seem to stand up for himself. And Samantha? Well...she was messed up too.

Things get rather twisted when Evelyn, a real estate agent, meets Samantha after she's considered selling her condo. Fast forward a little and Andy and Evelyn meet at the park they used to frequent early on in their relationship. Andy wants to tell Evelyn that he's leaving her, but Evelyn, as usual, beats him to it and tells him she has cancer and it's his job now to look after her.

Given that it's a 3-character play, can you guess who's the medical intern assigned to Evelyn? If you guessed Samantha, you'd be right. I don't even want to go on about the plot because I'm too tired and disappointed to think about it any longer. I couldn't find any sympathy for any of the characters. It felt rather like a blind date that you knew was going to be bad as soon as the first greeting's exchanged.

At least I had fun prior. I met my friends at the National Ballet box office to get tickets initially for Sleeping Beauty, but since the seats in the Ring we wanted weren't available, we got tickets for the Christmas institution that is The Nutcracker. We then walked across Queen for dinner at Shanghai Cowgirl where I had the yummy Chicken Club Sandwich. The salad was overdressed and the side order of sweet potato fries was oversalted, but the chicken breast was perfectly tender and juicy. Will return again.