Trent Pardy, Jean-Robert Bourdage, France Rolland
(photo credit: James Lavoie)
The Oracle of Walmart
Engaging, shocking, powerful, bliss
by David Sklar
I had the experience of seeing Bliss two years ago at the SummerWorks festival in Toronto. The story written by Olivier Choiniere, a graduate of NTS (National Theatre School of Canada) playwriting program on the French side, explores the extremities of the world as seen through a Walmart cashier/oracle. The play moves about in a quick, quirky and unpredictable way, edging on disturbing. Its director, Steven McCarthy, who also doubled as one of the actors in the summer production, believes that “Céline Dion is the goddess of the play”. (Thanks Pat Donnelly). Having won the CanStage award for Best Direction, you should take him at his word.
