Prompting both laughter and tears, Alice & The World We Live In is an emotionally well-rounded exploration of memory.
The play follows a woman named Alice as she embarks on her pre-planned hike through Italy shortly after losing her husband in a sudden terrorist attack. Canadian playwright Alexandria Habier’s original play is directed by Rosemary Doyle and stars Helen Bretzke and Sean Roberts. Brought to life by Theatre Kingston at The Grand Theatre, this two-person play marks only the second time it has been performed. The 90-minute production is running from Oct. 24 to Nov. 16.
The play delves into the process of grieving a loved one and learning how to move forward through tragedy. Alice’s current hike was originally planned with her husband, Ever, to celebrate their anniversary, before his untimely death. The tragedy leaves Alice on the
non-refundable hike alone, grappling with his absence.
Set on a moss-covered Italian mountainside, the production’s lighting—cleverly controlled by Will Smith-Blyth—transports the audience with Alice, shifting seamlessly between the mountain and into the realm of memory. The lighting of The Baby Grand Theatre fluctuates, mirroring Alice’s various positive and negative memories with Ever.
Alice’s trek over the mountain becomes a metaphor for the obstacle of grief. She returns to the same memories over and over, including the memory of meeting Ever in class. The repetition works to engrain the memories into the audience’s mind, immersing us in her loss and her struggle to move forward after such a tragedy.
As Alice worries and thinks aloud, Ever walks through the audience and speaks from different angles of the stage. This positioning immerses the audience in Alice’s experience, as if surrounded by Ever’s voice and presence.
The entire production felt very real, as though Bretzke herself is living through Alice’s dilemma. The authenticity was encouraged through moving monologues performed full of emotion.
Rosemary Doyle director of the play and artistic producer for Theatre Kingston, spoke to The Journal about the importance of truth in the show, emphasized through the actors’ performances.
The chemistry between Bretzke and Roberts as Alice and Ever was crucial in making the story believable and the relationship mournable. The fluidity of memory is examined throughout the show as Alice attempts to return to, and tamper with, her past memories to change the ending of her and Ever’s story. I felt emotional watching Ever gently urge Alice to move on, saying “sweetheart, you need to move forward,” yet, their exchanges are mostly humorous as they quip back and forth with effortless chemistry.
Doyle employed “free time” rehearsals, stepping out of the room to allow Bretzke and Roberts to develop their natural chemistry.
“You can’t fake chemistry like that, you have to create it. That safety and knowledge, being comfortable and trusting one another, you have to let that happen and sometimes, as a director in the room, you can become a wedge between the natural process,” Doyle said.
Watching Alice and Ever joke about their lifetime of memories and experiences as a relationship, the audience sees their connection and fills in the grief themselves without the play feeling overly heavy. Alice & The World We Live In is all about those little decisions you make along the way that create the life you have,” Doyle said.
Alice & The World We Live In is a cleverly written play that examines loss, and takes a critical approach to memory, questioning its purpose.
Tragedy often doesn’t give us a warning before it strikes, but we can’t live in fear. It’s always better to have loved and lost, to have never loved at all. Alice & The World We Live In teaches us this sentiment through being a beautiful reflection of human relationships and a nuanced exploration of the weight of knowing and loving another person who has passed away.
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Alice & The World We Live, Baby Grand Theatre, Grand Theatre, Play review, Theatre Kingston
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