The Shaw Festival season comes to a close in early December, next season's plays have already been announced, and the last of this season's plays have opened.
The comedy "Nothing Sacred" premiered in Toronto in 1988. It was written by acclaimed Canadian playwright George F. Walker. The play, however, takes place in 1859 Russia.
Though costuming is detailed and authentic, the rather bare set is ingenious and very modern. The stage is nothing but bare wooden plank flooring. The backdrop consists of a geometric minimalist grid inspired by the art of Russian revolutionary Wassily Kandinsy (1866-1944). Combining the periods is an attempt at universality, an interesting one that doesn't always work well.
"Nothing Sacred" does have a universal theme, one that hardly changes with the times -- sons return from college with totally new ideas and reject the conventions of fathers. In this case, a young man, Arkady Kirsanov (Jeff Meadows) brings home to his father's troubled estate his very radical friend Yevgeny Bazarov (Mike Shara). They are both university students. Bazarov is a nihilist who protests against everything about the social order. In the first scene, the two encounter a bailiff beating a thief. Serfdom is no longer in existence.
Bazarov immediately takes the side of the thief. Later he is introduced to Kirsanov's father (Jim Mezon) and unsavory uncle (Benedict Campbell).
There's a young servant girl who has given birth to the father's baby and an attractive woman (Tara Rosling) whose past includes both the uncle and Bazarov. It's a lively mix, yet the plot is slow to develop and somewhat confusing.
"Nothing Sacred" is directed by Morris Panych. Set design is by Ken MacDonald and costuming is by David Boechler.
"Nothing Sacred" plays in repertory at the Festival Theatre until Oct. 30.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | Oct. 26 2004 |