It’s very well intentioned, maybe even moderately helpful — and a total wank.
In Meeting, playwright Katherine Gauthier invites us to observe a meeting of Co-Dependents and Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous, but what she shows us is completely unrealistic — more about sensationalism than authenticity or disciplined inquiry.
Apparently, Gauthier started her writing process by asking, “Who deserves grace?” The play’s central conflict ignites when one of the members of the group reveals that they’re a paedophile — who is tortured by their orientation, has never acted on it, and says they would rather kill themselves than do so. Does that person deserve grace? Of course they do. Because everybody deserves grace. Everybody. That’s what grace means.
About the sensationalism. Rob, a new member of the group, arrives so full of fury that, in a responsible situation in real life, he would immediately be taken aside or asked to leave. But Dawn, who’s leading the group, allows him to stay. You might chalk that up to the fact that, even though Dawn is behaving like a therapist, she is unqualified to do so. But she allows Rob to stay even when he repeatedly threatens another group member with physical violence. FFS. Later, when Dawn is doing a therapeutic exercise with a group member, she flips out and gets lost in the world of her own trauma. Great.
It’s all too pumped up.
After the show, a friend asked, “What did the playwright think she was doing?” My best guess is that she was following her instincts and she allowed herself to distort the serious work that goes on in 12-step programs, therapy, and support groups because following those instincts felt good. Writing about big emotions can be cathartic. It can feel like you’re on to something.
And there is a fundamentally kind impulse at work. The paedophile is presented empathetically. The most humane members of the group come to their defence. This refusal to demonize the easily demonizable is what I’m talking about when I say that there’s a way in which Meeting might be helpful.
Under Chelsea Haberlin’s direction, the acting is a somewhat mixed bag but mostly solid. Sebastien Archibald overacts as Rob. In contrast, Chris Lam delivers a masterfully understated performance as a porn addict named Patrick. Lam gets maximum comic mileage out of the fact that Patrick, who is an academic, is also a bit of a nerd. (He’s capitalizing on the writing here; within the extremity, Gauthier has penned some funny stuff.) Along with the wit of his work, Lam-as-Patrick offers a pragmatic compassion that’s one of the most moving elements in this production. Carmela Sisson is solid in her role, Marcus Youssef does an excellent job in his, and Kaitlin Williams brings as much credibility to Dawn as humanly possible.
The stunner for me is that three companies — Itsazoo, Pacific Theatre, and Neworld Theatre — were apparently so blinded by the good intentions and big emotions of Meeting that they thought it was a good idea to produce this unrealistic and overwrought piece of work.
MEETING by Katherine Gauthier. Directed by Chelsea Haberlin. An Itsazoo production in association with Pacific Theatre and with the support of Neworld Theatre. At Pacific Theatre until June 7. (tickets and information)
PHOTO CREDIT: In a publicity shot: Sebastien Archibald, Carmela Sison, Kaitlin Williams, Chris Lam, and Marcus Youssef.
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