Theatre Passe Muraille (TPM) continues its 2015-16 season with resident playwright Jordi Mand’s intimate and gripping Caught, directed by Sarah Garton Stanley.
Sixteen-year-old James (Jakob Ehman) has been caught for theft over $2,000 by department store security guard Trisha (Sabryn Rock) and is being held for questioning in the store’s security holding room while they wait for the police to arrive. James dances around her questions, particularly keen to withhold his name, parents’ cell numbers and address. Cagey and suspect as he continues to rationalize his actions, he has no luck winning over Trisha, who’s becoming increasingly irritated at having to deal with this kid, as well as the poor walkie talkie reception with the officer en route. And by the time the cop arrives (Dan, played by Meegwun Fairbrother), machinations and misunderstandings are well underway. As the interrogation continues, connections and relationships are uncovered – and the balance of power shifts with every new revelation till the three-way dynamic reaches a fevered pitch.
Caught is a short, tight one-act that turns up the heat gradually during the course of the proceedings – and this excellent cast is more than up for it. There’s a tightly wound, restless edge to Rock’s Trisha; intensely focused and earnestly dedicated to her job – perhaps too much so – she’s a suffer-no-fools, by-the-book kinda gal who will occasionally colour outside the lines when circumstances force her to do so. She takes ‘serve and protect’ very seriously and maybe a bit too personally – to the point that she finds herself choosing between justice and the law. Ehman’s performance of James weaves charming, even lovable, precociousness with an infuriating sense of rich kid entitlement; Puck-like, bright and emoting innocence, you’d love this kid if he weren’t such a manipulative little asshole. Fairbrother brings a great sense of inner conflict to Dan and is a great foil for Rock’s Trisha. An imposing figure who can intimidate with the best of them, Dan is a pragmatic, no-nonsense guy – something he has in common with Trisha; however, that’s where their similarities end. As events unfold, it’s clear that Dan is more concerned about his application for promotion, and must choose between departmental politics and justice.
With shouts to production designer John Thompson and assistant Elizabeth Traicus for realizing a tight, realistic interrogation space – one that includes a large cut out window for the audience to witness the action therein, making us part of the system.
An intense, complex psychological game of cat and mouse in interrogation thriller Caught.
Caught runs till Apr 24 in the TPM Backspace – box office info here; you can book tix in advance online.
Check out the awesome new trailer (by Hallie Seline):
life with more cowbell 