creative forces

Blog 18...February 2013

On a dark and stormy night a while ago,  I went down to the Young Centre in the Distillery District to see RARE, a very special theatre experience created and directed by Judith Thompson. Expanded from a hugely successful run last summer at the Fringe, RARE is an ensemble piece starring nine adults with Down’s syndrome - they also played a part in developing the script.  

John Hawkes, commenting on his role as quadriplegic poet Mark O’Brien in The Sessions, says,
” Art in general can help us shed light on things we normally look away from.”  It’s impossible to look away from these engaging young men and women in RARE as they dance, sing and speak movingly of their hopes and dreams with eloquence and humour. Some of their thoughts are expressed in poetry...Yeats’ “One man loved the pilgrim soul in you”  brought tears to my eyes as it always does and Hamlet's soliloquy poses a question we all ask ourselves on occasion.

The players often don masks to conceal their faces, an effective way to erase even further the sense that they are different, and reminding us too of  the universality of their ideas and fears. Suzanne overcomes difficulty speaking to tell us of the shooting death of her brother; Nicholas treats his homosexuality in a refreshingly matter-of–fact way and Krystal reads a letter to mothers urging them to “be brave” and not terminate pregnancies if Down’s syndrome is detected.

The individuals in RARE are as diverse in their size, shape and ethnicity as they are in their personalities.  As I watched, I couldn’t help thinking of the five young people in my 1981 film Free Dive who took such delight in their identity as divers, at least for the duration of the film. We heard from many disabled people after its release telling us how the film changed their image of themselves and  encouraged them to try something they hadn’t thought possible. I’m sure RARE will have a similar effect.

Using theatre to engage us with people who are different from us in some way, whether it’s a noblewoman having a secret affair, an old man with no home or a young person with Down’s syndrome, encourages us to be a bit more generous, widens our horizon a few inches and generally makes the world a better place.

Judith Thompson has plans for future plays featuring people in wheelchairs and people who are deaf; she’s to be congratulated for tackling these issues, opening our eyes and hearts to some of our fellows .