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Dream Lover: Marie Brassard’s Jimmy
Poor Jimmy can’t get a good night’s sleep. Born in a dream of an American army general, Jimmy the gay hairdresser is at the mercy of other people’s subconscious imaginations. When the general dies, Jimmy is left in limbo, until his life begins again in the dreams of a Montreal actress whom he loathes. Marie Brassard’s exploration of the frustrating inner life of a character who has no agency in his world is the most compelling 90 minutes we’ve had in a Toronto theatre in recent memory. A talented storyteller and an extraordinarily innovative theatre-maker, Brassard uses a voice modifier to create various characters (and, in one particularly haunting moment, a train whistle). It’s a dangerous device, and could have been alienating in the wrong hands, but here it added a surreal element of remove that served the action onstage perfectly, and Brassard has the rare talent of always keeping her audience exactly where she wants them. By the way, JKelly liked it too, especially the train whistle.
Jimmy runs until December 18th at Buddies in Bad Times, 12 Alexander Street, 416-975-8555.