Review: BELLEVILLE POLISHES OFF PARIS at Old Fitz Theatre

They say it's never one moment that turns paradise into peril, but a series of small, indiscernible hairline fractures that suddenly at the most innocent of moments cause a shattering from which no hope of rebuilding can be drawn. Although the events that transpire in Belleville bear a little more drama, the suspense and fragility of human romance connected audience and actor alike at Old Fitz Theatre for a thrilling weekend in Paris.

Something is unravelling in the home of Abby and Zack. Something that as the piece goes on, becomes ever the more sinister, and increasingly harder to put your finger on. By the close of this bilingual drama written by Amy Herzog, the amity between the couple and their landlords Amina and Alioune will have been stretched beyond limits. Whether it breaches breaking point or not might depend on whether you can speak French! In the adorable apartment designed by Jonathan Hindmarsh we will bear chilling witness to how dangerous the banalities of relationships can become. Hindmarsh's design does well to mask the instability of the inhabitants, perhaps part of the reason they were able to deceive their friends and themselves so long. Home is after all where the heart is, no matter what state either are in.

A word must be afforded to Taylor Ferguson who stepped into the role of Abby when original cast member Emily Eskell fell ill a week prior to opening night. Normally in cases like this, the performer is excused some slips of script, some anomaly in pacing, and a shift in chemistry. I would have never known Ferguson hadn't been crafting this piece from day one, every credit to her and to Josh Anderson who played opposite her to create a spellbinding couple that had the audience completely engaged in their nail-biting normalcy.

Director Claudia Barrie created a good presence in moving her characters like pieces on a chessboard: independent of each other, but all part of some bigger strategy. Presuming it was her decision to keep the French untitled, I'll commend that this added much intrigue into a storyline that could have become predictable if not handled with the energy she has been able to charge within and between the actors. Chantelle Jamieson as fiery landlady Amina does not have much impact on the action, but her performance is electrified. Aldo Mignone as her husband and patient friend of Zach's plays his frustration well and their couple dynamic adds much needed cultural realism to the piece. All in all, audience members will struggle to remember moments that lacked polish or the attention to fine details that itch at the knife-edge between romance and rage.

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