Review: Courage a political theatre revival

Promotional poster for Courage

In a typical trip to the theatre you slip into your seat and wait for the lights to go down. The production begins and you sit quietly empathizing with the characters and drift off to another place and time. For anyone who visited the theatre workshop of dog & pony’s latest production, Courage a political theatre revival, it was anything but the typical trip to the theatre. Courage is set for its full length production next summer and dog & pony dc will put on a few more workshops between then and now to continue raising money to support the production.

As I went to the small workshop venue it was clear that the production would not be a typical experience. The seats were set up around the band – my seat was so close I could reach out and touch one of band members if I had had the inclination. I was greeted with the offer of a beer on the house; it has been a long time since I have indulged in a beer the quality of Blue Ribbon. The lights could not go down because the entire theatre house was the stage and the audience members were both props and un-expecting cast members.

The cast used attendants to the audience to pull the audience out of their comfort zones while watching the production. It began with simple posters letting the audience in to things they may not have known. The most effective attendant to the audience was the cook’s song. The words to the song chores were printed on the playbill and the audience was asked to sing along following the posters for the altered words. This was particularly effective in drawing out the central theme of the production. The audience was confronted with declaring that various virtues were not virtues at all but burdens on the individual that possessed them. This was particularly thought provoking and prevented the audience from merely enjoying a production that considered this dark outlook but forced the audience to apply the question to their own lives. Is virtue worth it? The last part of the song asked the posed the question of whether the love of god was worth the sacrifices it forced upon those who seek it. Two members of the audience were asked out right. The first caught up in the production declared it was not. The second held her religious beliefs close enough to say it was worth it. The rest of the audience was left to ponder the question for themselves. What would you sacrifice love, happiness and even survival for?

Not all the attendants to the audience were as successful as this one. There was a moment when a cast member wove her way around the audience saying “I was not expecting that” at various turning points of the production. This was largely lost on the audience. It could have been because the attendant was also a cast member and it was difficult to separate her from her position in the production or perhaps the attendant needed to actually turn to a member of the audience and ask them if they were expecting that. Her comments were distant from the audience and the intent lost. The repetitive comment because more of a distraction then an obvious audience attendant.

Continuing with the audience involvement – the intermission was preceded by one cast member at the height of the scene saying “I need a beer”. Then to the audience does anyone else want a beer – the cast members then handed out additional Blue Ribbon to the audience. The cans of cheep beer somehow fit with the atmosphere of the production. I have distaste for all beer but found myself reaching out for a beer and drinking it throughout the production… I had been sucked into the whole atmosphere, an impressive accomplishment.

Over all the production was edgy and thought provoking. It confronted the audience with a dark view of humanity and what was virtuous. I can’t wait for the full production next summer. I recommend attending one of the workshops if you have the opportunity. You can also follow the production on the blog created by the cast members.