My fathers birthday was fast approaching and as many of you know I’m always looking to showcase new experiences to my family and friends. So, I set out to plan a fun Friday evening in the city for the two of us which featured a finger licking good feast at my favourite sports bar followed by my fathers first performance at World Stage.
My dad’s a big sports fan and often watches golf, football, basketball and baseball for endless hours on the TV at home while sipping on beer and nibbling on crackers and cheese. Unbelievably he had still never been to Real Sports by the ACC so our Friday night adventure obviously had to start here. We were offered perfect seats overlooking the massive bar where a plethora of screens showcased simultaneous sporting events: tennis, golf, baseball and the ridiculous spectacle that is women’s wrestling. We sipped on cold pints while devouring a duo of Chef Tony’s signature wings and made sure to finish with a Happy Birthday adorned hockey puck shaped brownie and thick slice of creamy peanut butter pie.
After dinner we hustled under the Gardiner Expressway with our hands in our pockets desperate to keep warm as a fierce wind whipped itself over the Lake. My eyes were welling up with tears as we burst into the lobby of the Enwave Theatre at Harbourfront Centre. This would be my fathers first show at World Stage and I was thrilled that the evenings production perfectly tied into the theme of our father-son city adventure.
Germany’s She She Pop & Their Fathers is a whimsical, revealing, heartfelt, touching and hilarious look at the relationship we have with our fathers. The production borrows pages from Shakespeare’s King Lear and stages it between the performers of She She Pop and their real life fathers. The show examines the equilibrium between generations and the often unspoken agreements made about the future. Throughout the evening the audience was confronted with the themes of love, money, power and memory from the perspectives of father, daughter and son.
I was most moved and inspired by how the production was performed. She She Pop’s interpretation of King Lear offered a perfect space to explore how children relate to their fathers today. Central to the story was the conversation around inheritance: questions and answers were revealed on stage from both generations as the notion of “what is owed to us,” was humorously revealed. Throughout the show our three fathers sat in comfy chairs, speaking directly into cameras on tripods which sat at their feet. Captured live video portraits were then projected onto screens hanging over the stage. The use of media here allowed the audience to experience a perspective duo: watching these men relaxing in their element but also staring directly into their vulnerable faces.
She She Pop present a revealing and essential piece of work that deconstructs The Family and allows us to reflect and publicly expose the internal conversations we so often have with the heads of our household. The show is an emotional one that shares a familiar sentimental song, stoic monologue, humorous dance and ultimately provides a mirror for each beating heart in the audience to stare into and pause.
