Contemporary Knights

This evening I had the pleasure of of watching Contemporary Knights written and directed by Lauren Stone.

Contemporary Knights is composed of two short plays discussing some of the issues of mental illness, Bi-polar disorder, OCD, and phobias to be exact.

The first of the two plays, entitled Ledges, was a wonderful two actor play covering the issue of bi-polar disorder and how it affects real and potential relationships. Kenny Streule and Michaela Di Cesare were both adept with their respective roles in this play. Kenny, playing Paul, really embodied a man trying to keep himself, his girlfriend, and their relationship from falling apart. Michaela, playing Marie, was able to really bring out struggles of someone trying to deal with her mental illness while trying to find love during a difficult time in her life, although I did find that some of the emotions she portrayed to be a little insincere at times.

The second piece, Black Flats, covered the anxiety issues of OCD and phobias.  Nicky Fournier, Kiya, is a young woman who is plagued by OCD as a way of coping with the stress of an earlier trauma. She was able to bring a fair portrayal of these two anxiety disorders while not being campy or over the top with them. Sean Colby was decent in this role however i would have preferred to see him bring out a little more machismo and a little less goofy frat boy. I think that if he were able to bring just a little more aggression to this character, it would have brought this character further than it was this evening.

I must give extra thanks to Lauren who wrote the plays. Having dealt with people struggling with depression I know how difficult it can be helping the other person while trying to dealing with your own life as well. I could actually recall some conversations that have sounded similar at times.

Additionally, the use of Agoraphobia in Black Flat was not only a good way to simplify the action in the play, but it also shows the audience how crippling certain phobias can be.

I highly recommend you go see these plays either August 2nd, or the following weekend August 7th, 8th, or 9th at 8:00 pm. Contemporary Knights is playing at the Freestanding Room (4324 Boulevard Saint-Laurent) and tickets are only $10.