In Joanna Rannelli’s autobiographical solo show, she shares her deepest, darkest secrets, but a lot of them aren’t that deep or dark, so Private Parts gets off to a slow start. And, because she shares so many secrets, the weightier material, which does show up eventually, is undermined, because she hasn’t left enough room to develop it. Rannelli’s stories are low on metaphor, including theatrical metaphor. (There’s no overarching convention to contain them.) Still, she is a charming performer and I have no doubt that her life challenges will speak to many people. Largely because of her presence, I was reasonably engaged by this show, but I feel it would be stronger if it were more focused and theatrical.
At Ballet BC. Remaining performances on September 9 (4:15 pm), 10 (4:30 pm), 12 (8:50 pm), 14 (5:00 pm), and 16 (6:45 pm). Tickets
About Colin Thomas
Leave a Reply