the REAL real mccoy

Let me just say this and get it over with: Andrew Moodie's The Real McCoy is, well, the real McCoy.

Now that that little matter of critical predictability is out of the way, I can safely say it's the only bit of predictable around the play itself.

While The Real McCoy follows a familiar dramatic trajectory -prologue, intro, conflict, rising action, resolution -its action unfolds in the most unique and moving of ways.

By turns clever, witty, smart, and sad, much like its lead character, The Real McCoy is a genuinely inventive piece of theatre -not to mention educational.

For those who don't know, Elijah McCoy was born in 1844 in Upper Canada, the third son of twelve, to escaped black slaves. He attended Edinburgh University and went on to patent over 40 inventions, most notably a self-lubricating steam engine that revolutionized train travel.

Oh, and he also invented the folding ironing board, vented treads on the soles of shoes, & the garden sprinkler. Seriously.

Moodie's play, rather than dryly going through the finer points of McCoy's life, injects drama, comedy, and a whole lot of thought into the man and his times.

The issue of race hovers around the edges, until McCoy is forced to deal w/ it himself- and the audience, in turn .

Maurice Dean Wint gives a towering performance as inventor Elijah McCoy, the main man of the piece. He starts off around the edges of the play, serving as a kind of omniscient narrator observing his younger self (played with aplomb by Kevin Hanchard) relating to his teachers, professors, and fellow university students.

Upon his return from school, Wint takes the form of a man who was well ahead of his time. He recognizes the inherent racism of his world but chooses to ignore it (as best he can) in favour of promoting his higher notions around thermodynamics and the uses of his ideas in everyday life. Ideas, after all, are colour-blind.

When he's confronted by racism in the form of two brothers running an engineering firm, (Bruce Beaton and Darren Keay) he handles their vitriol with grace and confidence. The same strong heart is shown in a more gentle manner as he relates with a fellow fellow co-worker, Bogey (Kevin Hanchard). It is through these small, interpersed scenes, that Moodie's material truly sings.

As in real life, the play covers the loss of McCoy's two wives, and his dealings with his father, his younger self, and heck, even the thermodynamic universe itself. I couldn't help thinking, in watching it, that the feel and rhythm of Moodie's work really does echo that of the steam engine McCoy helped to change: sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but always consistent. Two hours clip right by as we're taken through not only the chronological events, but the emotional ones, that shaped and defined the man McCoy.

As director, Moodie has creatively decided to forgo a set proper in favour of movable pieces the cast themselves adjust according to scene, putting our attention firmly on the story and characters.

None of this would work if it weren't for a uniformly strong cast who take on several roles throughout the play. I especially enjoyed Marcia Johnson's physical comedy as McCoy's second wife-to-be, in their first real meeting, set on an ice rink, and Ardon Bess' sassy turn as McCoy's housekeeper.

The changeability of the set and characters, with Wint as the ever-constant factor, is a strong reminder of the power of theatre to transform the ordinary into something extraordinary. Moodie has accomplished this with The Real McCoy.

You'll never wear your winter boots the same way again.

The Real McCoy runs at the Factory Theatre in Toronto until November 4th.
For more information, go to www.factorytheatre.ca