how it works

Humans love stories -the telling, the sharing, the hearing.

We love a ripping good yarn, a big cry, a good laugh, the drama of the rising action, and the denoument of the resolution. Stories are what bind us, connect us, and sometimes, heal us.

Daniel McIvor's latest play How It Works, now on at the Tarragon, reminds us of the importance of stories in our human lives. We need to tell ourselves, and others, stories, and by so doing, resolve our past, confront our present, and prepare our future.

The story of the play itself begins innocuously enough, with a spare set and a couple awkwardly meeting for the first time.

It's interesting to note how the initial-couple-after-online-flirting scenario is becoming such a common feature of modern storytelling; I clearly recall author Elyse Friedman's reading of such an encounter (with a decidedly different, and nastier edge) from her new book, Long Story Short, at last month's International Festival of Authors. The fact the online world is so common to our shared experience, and is so naturally incorporated into the telling of stories, says something about the ways in which 21st century humans are now choosing to relate, and share our stories -in the virtual world, as opposed to the real one, which is considerably more perilous, if fascinating, to navigate.

No matter. The meeting between Al, a divorced dad, and Christine, a drug store cashier, is full of charm, wit, and nice touches of tenderness. This gentle touch carries through in the scenes between Al and his daughter, Brooke; it's another generation, another story. Through Brooke's memory, the audience is witness to her father's own story of romance with her mother, the now-neurotic Christine, who seems pulled between wanting to help her daughter & hiding from her -and thus life itself.

Christine, however, is willing to confront Brooke, to "take her on", as she puts it, and so, for one weekend, the two are holed up in Al's apartment, where the troubled teen is forced to face her demons, and to share her story with a woman who understands more of life, pain, and attachment then she lets on. It's this cathartic act that changes both of them, and the direction of their lives, laying the foundation of renewal in relationships and life choices.

While much of How It Works could've swerved into the mawkishly sentimental, I was happy it stayed firmly planted in the ugly realities and awkward emotions it evoked. As the various characters' stories are enacted and told, we, the audience, are being treated to another layer of a story we, ourselves, may have stories relating to, in one way or another. Families are full of such tales, and more often than not, are unwilling to share those tales, unless, of course, there is a special occasion, or a tragedy.

Performances in How It Works are uniformly strong, with Tom Barnett's Al an interesting mix of a man seeking hope in the future while despairing of his present. Bethany Jillard, as Brooke, is compelling in her vulnerability and stubborn addiction, as she swings between hurt child, angry daughter, and emerging woman. Fiona Highet, as her mother, Christine, is fascinating to watch for her transformations. We see her in the present, as a high-maintenance woman seeking validation from her daughter about her looks, nosing into her ex's business and running away from the problems she knows she must face. Then, in flashback, we see her as a ditzy, fun blonde, giggling at her future-husband's jokes and staggering along in a first-date haze.

Even more fascinating, the scenes between she and her Al's present girlfriend, Christine. Caroline Gillis delivers a truly standout performance that sits at the heart of How It Works. Her opening monologue, about the role of stories in her life, and her scenes with both mother Christine and daughter Brooke, reveal a woman emotionally and mentally far beyond the simpleton confines of a small-town Maritimer she often puts herself across as.

How It Works is neither simple, nor does it resort to tragic poses or saccharine moments to be sincere.

It tells the audience a story -how it works, as it were. And really, it does. Very well.

How It Works runs at the Tarragon Theatre until December 16th; for more information, go to www.tarragontheatre.com.