REVIEW: A QUESTION OF CHARACTER
Age Suitability: Parental Guidance (ages 13+)
Genre: Theatre—Drama
Run Time: 80 mins
Venue: Mills Hardware
Can an artist’s work be both horrific and celebrated? A notable question explored in a fascinating and gripping thriller from MinMar Gaslight Productions’s A Question of Character.
Journalist Paulina Mitchell (a rich and layered performance from Tanisha Taitt) is writing an article for a film magazine showcasing the work of Leni Riefenstahl (portrayed by the enticing and unshakable Paula Wing). Riefenstahl was also vilified for her role as a director of Nazi propaganda films (most notably Triumph of the Will) and regarded as complicit in the genocide of millions for which she never took responsibility.
Steven Elliott Jackson’s plays are frequently inspired by real people. In what must be exhaustive research into these people’s lives, Jackson’s work is full of twists, plentiful rapid paced battles of wit and confronting various sides to an unwinnable argument. He creates captivating situations and questions in this piece to be explored and leaves you wanting more in the best way possible.
The acting between Taitt and Wing is remarkable. Paula Wing as Riefenstahl is determined to deny any guilt or responsibility for her part in the atrocities during World War II while Tanisha Taitt’s Pauline Mitchell builds slowly until her real purpose for the interview is revealed. She is determined to get Riefenstahl to admit being complicit and their ensuing battle is equal parts intense and infuriating. In its 80 minute run time, you never feel like the story lags or drops its momentum thanks to the unrelenting, focused direction of Alice Fox Lundy and the precision in the dialogue and pacing from Jackson’s script. Truly impressive work from all involved.
There’s a great deal of relevancy to current events as well, despite the story focusing on the past. It will leave audiences discussing the implications of Riefenstahl’s denial and how uncomfortably similar that denial feels as we watch near constant media unfold around us, and how we are complicit in what we watch, share and allow to happen.
Don’t miss it.
