BWW Reviews: THIS Examines the Reality of Grief

The first step in any critique of a play is the play itself. And Melissa James Gibson's THIS, produced by Epic Theatre Company, is an excellent example of a well-written play.

THIS examines the relationship of a couple, their two friends, one of whom has lost her husband and a newcomer to the group. The play explores how they are all coping with the loss, a year later. Jane, the widow, played perfectly by the talented Emily Lewis, is not coping at all. As Jane begins to unravel, so does the tightknit friendship she holds dear with her friends Marrell (MJ Daly) and Tom (Robert C Reynolds), who have recently had their first child.

While examining deep subjects, like death, inter-racial marriage, loneliness, and racism, the characters of Allen, the group's token gay friend, and Jean-Pierre, the newcomer French doctor who works in Africa with Doctors Without Borders, provide a comedic balance to the more serious topics the friends address.

The 80 Rolphe Square location that is Epic's second stage, is a hard space to block. Transitions always seem longer than necessary to carry in and out props. However, Director Lara Hakeem (The Other Place) uses some creative devices to block a steamy sex scene.

The acting, overall, is strong. However, the relationship between Marrell and Tom never feels real. Marrell's character, a Jazz singer, is also a stretch. Allen, played by Christopher Verleger, while funny, sometimes speaks too quickly and is hard to understand. The play is short enough that there is no need to rush through the dialogue. Yet one of his best lines in the play "I didn't know it counted if you did it at home," in reference to a home style christening, got big laughs.

While Epic produces plays on a limited budget, this rings all too clear in the costuming of the women. Marrell's evening dress does not flatter, while Jane wears a sweater in the final two scenes that looks like it should have been given to Goodwill years ago.

Artistic Director, Kevin Broccoli, painstakingly chooses the plays for his season that are new, fresh, unknown to many and provocative. THIS is all of that and one to see, if just to hear Emily Lewis's final monologue on moving through grief, and to hear the words of the talented Melissa James Gibson.

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