By Emma Peterson
In a small, lemon-hued house barely big enough for a bed, Karen Hines feels more and more trapped as she weaves the audience through a horror story of bad investments, a devilishly handsome, but deceptive real estate agent, maggots, property laws and – worse than anything – an impossible-to-reach crawl space that hides something tormenting her from inside.
Written by Karen Hines and directed by Miriam Cusson, Crawlspace recounts Karen’s personal story of her venture into the real estate market, from its idyllic beginnings to its horrific ending. Fuelled by her own vices, and accompanied by a law student sent to protect her from a potential lawsuit, we learn about Karen’s desire for a home of her own. We learn all about her hopes for her new tiny place and, just as quickly, all the ways it sent her life spiralling out of control.
Karine Ricard in Crawlspace. Photo accessed from Théâtre de la Vieille 17 website.
At first glance, the home looks perfect: it’s on budget and owning a home in Toronto seems better than renting her current apartment in this day and age. Her agent seems optimistic and tells her it barely needs any renovations; in fact, according to the home’s MLS listing, “EVRTHNG HS BN DN”. The unfortunate reality is that Karen’s dream house is a ticking time bomb. Through comedy and a dark atmosphere, this show hopes to challenge the human condition and bring to light a highly flawed industry.
Crawlspace mainly focuses on Karen Hines, played by Karine Ricard. Karen is a wild woman who fluctuates between a comedic lighthearted persona to a more unhinged, self destructive one. Ricard flips through these moments really well, and her performance is lively and entertaining. She uses the stage and set to her advantage and creates a rapport with the crowd by talking directly to the audience, walking around and offering water or vodka at the start forged an immediate connection to her.
Karine Ricard in Crawlspace. Photo accessed from Théâtre de la Vieille 17 website.
Much like the house itself, Karen’s character first appears nice, bright and sweet, but she has an edge to her that comes out when the story intensifies. We learn all about the stresses she has to deal with, the position she feels she been put into, how easily it all started going wrong, and how she was able to escape. Ricard is able to portray all Karen’s emotions wonderfully. Her scene partner, Meilie Ng, plays an uptight law student babysitting Karen to make sure she doesn’t say or do anything that could create legal problems. Ng is straight laced and no-nonsense until pushed to let loose. While hers is a much smaller role than Ricard’s, Ng pulls off the persona very well and provides the audience with some contrast to Karen’s character.
Designed by Glenn Davidson, Crawlspace’s all white set creates a cold, uncomfortable feeling. The set contains nothing but a table and chair. The walls are covered with shelves, giving the illusion of an unfinished house. This provides a blank space for the actors to work with and implies a lifeless feeling, symbolic of the real estate industry. The minimalist look is offset by two screens with projections that change throughout the story.
Karine Ricard in Crawlspace. Photo accessed from Théâtre de la Vieille 17 website.
From a corporate-style slideshow to bugs crawling across the screen, these projections not only change the look of the set, but the feeling as well. Bright greens and twinkling lights are used to convey emotions like disgust or wonder, and animals provide funny or disturbing analogies for life, creating an engaging atmosphere that forces the audience to confront what they are seeing. The costumes in Crawlspace pair nicely with the set and help contribute to this weird and wonderful narrative. Ng’s white jacket and clean look blend into the background, contrasting with Ricard’s flowy, sunshine yellow dress that mirrors the house’s colour.
One important element of this play comes from its use of surtitles. Crawlspace was originally written in English, but this presentation was translated into French by Mishka Lavigne. I was given glasses that show the surtitles throughout the performance. These glasses were customisable and are a good alternative for people who would like to see the show, but are not comfortable enough to see a full-length French-language play. However, the glasses made it hard to give the performance my full attention and I often found that it was hard to see what was going on on stage.
Karine Ricard in Crawlspace. Photo accessed from Théâtre de la Vieille 17 website.
Crawlspace is a unique theatre experience: horror is very often left out of theatre, and being able to balance that with comedy is no easy task, but the playwright, Karen Hines, pulled it off effortlessly. If you or a loved one has ever experienced buying a home, this play might give you therapeutic laughter, as the room was filled with constant laughter from the audience. I would not recommend Crawlspace for anyone under the age of 15, due to some mature themes. Hines has captured the overwhelming nature of the real estate market, and the actors give a lively performance that leaves the audience with horrified laughter – and maybe a little bit of fear of embarking on their own property adventures.
Although Crawlspace is no longer playing at Théâtre de la Vieille 17, this play has been presented across the country in both English and French, so if you get the chance, I would recommend seeing it. Click here to see other upcoming plays at Théâtre de la Vieille 17, at La Nouvelle Scène Gilles Desjardins on King Edward Avenue .
This article was written by Emma Peterson for the Theatre Appreciation and Criticism Class at the Ottawa School of Theatre.
