Iceland Reviews

J. Woods from Calgary, Alberta

OFFENSIVE: GRATUITOUS ABUSE & BETRAYAL

I'm all for theatre that causes people to think and reflect and grow in some way, and I do not shy away from difficult themes. That said, I found this play attempted to shock the audience into thoughtful awareness or realization in a way that was highly irresponsible & violative. Audience members sit at the back of the stage such that people in the audience face each other and see each other's reactions to events on stage that are likely to create, in many cases, extreme discomfort. Without consent, the reactions of people in the audience become part of the play in an almost cruel way -- squirming, discomfort, or acceptance of some very offensive scenes/ideas. Where this becomes irresponsible is that when provoking people to face highly contentious treatment of others, people's private stories and reactions are private. Some audience members may have prior traumas brought to the surface and feel violated by having their truth forcefully on display in an unsupportive setting.

Susan Vogelaar from Pincher Creek AB

ICELAND ? WHY THIS TITLE?

This play is definitely not appropriate for the regular series for this year’s shows. The script language and imagery from the male character was disgusting. A fringe festival play perhaps? A warning about the language and content should have been advertised. I brought a friend and we were disappointed and lost any interest in trying to understand the theme of capitalism which was supposed to be the reason for writing the play. This may have won awards but the reaction of the audience revealed the shock and negative attitude to the production. We paid for a mezzanine box with our subscription and I feel this play was not worth our membership. I taught drama as an instructor and direct a local theatre and the theme of this script could have been revealed without the language and the descriptions of sexual activities. The write up of fiercely funny and whip smart was misleading and false. I feel we have lost 1 show for our membership with this play. I am disappointed with this choice.

C Minty from Calgary, Alberta

ICELAND

This production left me feeling very uncomfortable, disgusted and I was very disturbed by the male characters vulgarity, profanity and deeply disturbing sexual content. It was to the point that the theme and message of the play was totally lost. Extremely poor choice of play for this venue. I also believe there should have been a warning about the content. We brought our young adult daughter and grandfather to this play and discussed leaving as we were all so uncomfortable. It will be hard to continue with season tickets after this poor choice of play. May consider canceling membership as money was lost on this production. Initially I noticed that at least 1/3 of the seats empty prior to the play start and now I know why. I also observed audience members leaving during the play. I truly hope Theatre Calgary learns from this experience! If you want to sell seats this is not how to do it. We who enjoy the arts are opened minded, like fuel for thought and love to be entertained. This play was beyond disappointing and more to shock and disgusting!

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