Inescapable
Created by Martin Dockery
Produced by RibbitRePublic Theatre
Review by Barbara Popel
55 min / PG/ Play, Comedy, Drama, Sci-fi
“My déjà vu is having its own déjà vu.”
Imagine two middle aged guys, casually dressed, in a space with an empty table between them, a chair on either side. They mention the heavy snowfall outside, and the holiday party going on in the next room of the luxurious house they’re in.
The tightly wound tall guy who is the party’s host – I’ll call him “A” – keeps circling back to ask the shambolic other guy – I’ll call him “B” – “What were you doing in the closet?” and “Why did you bring this thing in here?“ B is evasive; he keeps changing his answers.
Martin Dockery and Jon Paterson in Inescapable. Photo by Vanessa Quesnelle.
The (invisible to us) thing on the table is a small wooden box with a switch on the outside and writing on one side. It terrifies A. He says, “What if it’s on? What if it’s a time machine? What if it’s taking us to our past future lives?” Is A crazy? He says, “I know I sound crazy but that’s why I know I’m not crazy.”
What about B? Is B high on drugs, as A claims? His disjointed answers and forgetfulness seem to imply he is. Or is he just a doofus loser? He seems to be a failure in life—no job, no money, living in a tiny apartment. And he can’t remember why he wrote the words “CHECK BACK” on the palm of his hand.
Inescapable reminded me of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot and M.C. Escher’s impossible drawings of staircases looping back on themselves. It’s a brilliant script.
The play’s sold-out audience on June 14 were rapt listeners of the quicksilver back-and-forth between A (Martin Dockery) and B (Jon Paterson) as their dialogue spiraled and looped, gradually revealing long-hidden truths.
Do not miss this tour-de-force of acting.
Inescapable is playing at ODD Box from June 14–22. Tickets are $14 plus service fees at the Fringe box office (3rd floor, Arts Court, 2 Daly Avenue), and at the two satellite box offices (LabO in the Ottawa Art Gallery and La Nouvelle Scene). 5 and 10 Show Passes are also available. Visit the Ottawa Fringe Festival’s website for the show’s schedule and check out their online schedule here.
