The Last Fifteen Seconds by MT Space at Intrepid Theatre.

This was one of my earliest forays into commenting on a piece of theatre.  Originally Tamara Hernandez from Hernandez Cocina was encouraging people (via Twitter) to post reviews to their website in a “culture” section.

The review was picked up by the company and used in their promotion. The original post no longer exists, so I am posting here.

MT Space is based in Kitchner Ontario and is the Waterloo Region’s only multicultural theatre. It was founded in 2004.

The Last Fifteen Seconds was presented at the Metro Studio Theatre in Victoria March 18-20, 2011 as part of a cross-Canada tour. The production continues to be available to tour. More information here.

This project explores the topic of terrorism starting with the tragic death of Syrian-American filmmaker Mustapha Akkad and his daughter Rima during a series of co-ordinated attacks that hit three prominent hotels in the Jordanian capital Amman in 2005. Akkad is the director of two major films both starring Anthony Quinn, The message: the Story of Islam (1976) and Lion of the Desert (1982). Akkad saw these films as a way to bridge the gap between the Western and Islamic world. He was also the producer of the Halloween film series.

The work constructs an imagined physical and verbal dialogue between Mustapha Akkad and Rawad Jassem Mohammad Abed, the suicide bomber who carried the explosion that killed Akkad. The work also looks at the imagined lives and memories of both the victim and his killer at the time of the explosion.

Visually and stylistically The Last Fifteen Seconds is a beautiful play.

It starts with the back wall of the theatre draped in row upon row of laundry drying, we presume, in the sun. This one simple device allows us to imagine the chaos of far away lands.

To my mind, there are many references to ancient Japanese and Chinese plays, with repetitive and ritualistic movements, and the slow motion of the actual suicide bombing scene. (Trevor Copp plays suicide bomber Rawad Abed and Alan K Sapp the victim, filmmaker Mustapha Akkad). Vocalizing by two of the actresses (Annie Marie Donovan &  Pam Patel) evokes the tragedy of many operas.

The cast of 5 is split into two families; each of the women plays two roles. This split is again, stylistically reflected in the staging. I particularly enjoyed the gamine-ness of the “grandmother” (Nada Humsi)– her joie de vivre; you could tell in her day she was a scamp. She is far removed from her much more “traditional” granddaughter, the other suicide bomber, in her approach to life.

The acting is superb. The story – compelling. Theatre goers will leave with an appreciation for the complexity that is life in the Middle East currently. There are no easy answers.

Here’s a review from a Vancouver couple who were so moved they had to write something.
http://bikesbirdsnbeasts.blogspot.ca/2011/03/last-15-seconds.html

The Last Fifteen Seconds by Gary Kirkham and MT Space, directed by Majdi Bou-Matar
Metro Studio Theatre
March 18-20, 2011

Cast:
Trevor Copp
Annie Marie Donovan
Nada Humsi
Alan K Sapp
Pam Patel

Set by Sheree Tams and Bill Chesney
Costumes by Sheree Tams
Lighting Design by Jennifer Jimenez
Video by Rob Ring
Music by Nick Storring