Small Tortures (I Love You)
Litera Productions
Created and directed by Ludmylla Reis
Performed by Jocelyn Todd and Alya Graham
Ottawa, ON | 25 mins
Small Tortures (I Love You), by Ottawa-based theatremaker Ludmylla Reis, depicts a toxic and violent partnership that takes place behind closed doors. Jocelynn Todd and Alya Graham are the show’s two performers whose expressive and intimate movements pull the audience in at the first gesture.
In this 25-minute tumultuous romance, “I love you” is restated into the dark theatre, as if done by rote memory. As they say those three weighty words, each person seems trapped by their bodies in a series of repetitive and tortuous movements. The two lovers fail to even catch each other’s glances as they act completely independently of one another.
Whenever a character tries to do something mundane, like picking up a piece of clothing, they are pulled back in another direction–as if yanked by a ghost of the past. Jocelyn and Alya gasp like they are choking without air. Over and over again, Graham falls lifelessly onto the ground. Both of their bodies ceaselessly contort throughout the play, aching like tumultuous waves. Occasionally, the audience sees two white curtains jostle as if to signify that all of this is what happens out of sight.
At one-point, the lovers wear white animal masks while their limbs move more and more mechanically. Eventually, those awkward movements form a highly emotive dance sequence. In the last scene of the performance, the pair finally come to acknowledge one another and many of their rote gestures come to make sense. This mysterious and haunting show manages to illustrate the perils of a couple’s relationship in a highly creative and enchanting way.
Small Tortures (I Love You) runs until February 11. Tickets are pay-what-you-can, ranging from $5 to $75. For more information and to purchase tickets, see the undercurrents schedule here.
