The four actors of The Valley tackled sensitive subjects such as mental illness and police brutality in their opening-night performance on February 4 at the Belfry Theatre.
But it didn’t start strong: in the first half of the play, I was underwhelmed by the acting and found the monologues extremely cheesy. I could easily guess the coming punch line or dramatic twist before it was revealed. When I realized the cast consisted of just the four actors on stage, I expected minimal ties with the set and lots of prop re-use. But I was proven wrong: the use of the stage was well done, and the four actors were able to carry the show.
I assumed that the whole production would be about the police brutality that was acted out at the beginning of the night. But as layer after layer of character depth was revealed, the audience dove deeper into the realm of pain, sorrow, and mental illness. The acting picked up and the production took a modern twist in the second half; it was quite refreshing watching a modern play accurately depicting relevant events. Sometimes you just get tired of Shakespeare’s era, with its sonnets and soliloquies.
The Valley also shows the misery a person dealing with mental-health issues can experience. The play involved someone dealing with psychosis, a relapsing addict with post-partum depression, and the obsessive nature of a controlling mother; even if you’ve never experienced any mental-health issues you’d be able to relate to these characters and feel their pain.
Unfortunately, the cast joked and got laughter from the audience too much for this dramatic play. The production should have been funny or it should have been dramatic; mixing these sensitive subjects with jokes didn’t work. I wish there was less focus on getting laughs and more on the acting in the first half of the play in particular.
Still, The Valley opened my eyes to the fact that plays can be modern and can reveal character depth and draw out emotion from the audience when you least expect it. The effort from everyone involved was evident, just focused in the wrong areas.
The Valley
Until February 28
Various prices, The Belfry
belfry.bc.ca