The Bull, the Moon and the Coronet of Stars, playing at this year’s SummerWorks Festival, is a sexually charged story of an illicit affair woven through with Greek mythos. It’s a minimalist performance physically — with only two actors, a simple set, and a single prop to speak of. But what this show lacks in items, it makes up in one strong and dynamic performance, one that leaves the audience silently screaming “dammit just kiss already!”

Daniela Vlaskalic plays Marion, an artist-in-residence in a museum of Greek artifacts who falls hard and heavily in lust with Michael (Ron Pederson), her co-worker who develops the same feelings for her. The only problem being she’s in a relationship and he’s married. During a security breach at the museum where both are left alone in the dark, their lust takes over.

Vlaskalic and Pederson are the heart and soul of this performance and it’s their dialogue and trading off monologues that deliver the raw emotion and sexual frustration that keep the gears turning. Their energy is high and relentless throughout the duration of the show, watching the performance it feels like I’m running out of breath just trying to catch up.

The use of Greek myth as an ongoing metaphor is the icing on this story. Marion is represented by Ariadne where Michael is Theseus diving in to slay the Minotaur at the heart of the darkened museum. Later, Pederson takes on the role of Mark, another man who seeps and bleeds into Marion’s life, represented as Dionysus.

Another exceptional element to the performance is the use of sound and music by composer John Gzowski, which provides great depth and resonance to the ambiance of the story.

There’s a lot of physical theatre involved in this production that’s fun and entertaining and worth checking out. Just try not to get overwhelmed by the sexual frustration brewing throughout.

Details:

The Bull, the Moon and the Coronet of Stars is playing at the Lower Ossington Theatre Mainspace (100 Ossington Ave)

Performance times:

Monday August 11, 7:00pm
Tuesday August 12, 9:30pm
Thursday August 14, 7:00pm
Friday August 15, 4:30pm
Saturday August 16, 4:00pm
Sunday August 17, 6:00pm

All individual SummerWorks tickets are $15 at the door (cash only). Tickets are available online, By phone by calling the Ticketwise Call Centre at 416-907-0468, in person at the SummerWorks Info Booth – located at The Theatre Centre (1115 Queen Street West) August 5th-17th from 10AM – 7PM (Advance tickets are $15 + service fee)

Several money-saving passes are available if you plan to see at least 3 shows

Photo of Ronald Pederson and Daniela Vlaskalic by Serena McCarroll