Black Butterfly

Blackwestward Productions—John Hirsch Mainstage

The gorgeous costumes create the setting for the wonderful, sultry opening dance that ensues. The upbeat, fun and toe-tapping music preludes the readiness to launch into party time mode, in this case, the Festival of Lights.

After the Festival, the plot develops quite slowly; however and even though you know what’s going to happen, it takes a while to get there. They want to draw a Romeo and Juliet type of tragedy out of the plot, but I really couldn’t engage with it. After I saw Letters yesterday, I left the theatre feeling like someone punched me on the sternum. I don’t get that here, and I think a big part of it is, I’m still in “party mode.” The colours, the dance, and the music all put me into a “let’s have fun spirit,” and when the tragedy comes, I’m just not ready for it.

If you want a tragedy, you need to set a tragic ambiance (think of how you feel at the closing aria of Madama Butterfly). Even at the end of this play, I felt like dancing with friends outside on a hot night, by an open fire, drinking sauvignon blanc.

Ray Yuen