Although Lee Van Paassen is neither a septuagenarian nor 鈥�200 pounds of unhealthy fat,鈥� she embraces, in every other respect, Samuel Beckett鈥檚 Maddy Rooney, a self-described 鈥渉ysterical old hag.鈥� Van Paassen is simply magnificent, Irish accent and all.
Written originally in French for radio, All That Fall is a perfect, polished jewel of a play with an exquisite role for a woman 鈥渙f a certain age.鈥� Under Duncan Fraser鈥檚 direction for Blackbird Theatre, Van Paassen almost mesmerizes us as Mrs. Rooney drifts in and out from present to past and back.聽
Broadcast on BBC in 1957, it鈥檚 Beckett鈥檚 first radio play, his most Irish and his funniest. That鈥檚 not to say it isn鈥檛 full of existential angst, but death and decline are treated with such wry humour that you laugh because if you didn鈥檛, you might fall into despair. It鈥檚 also Beckett鈥檚 most plot-based work: Mrs. Rooney sets off from her home on a June afternoon to meet the train that brings blind husband Dan home from work. Huffing and puffing, she meets colourful locals along the way, ending up at the train station only to find the train has been delayed. Eventually she finds Dan and they walk back home to their country cottage 鈥� the obese leading the blind. Along the way, she asks about the delay but Dan is strangely closed-mouth about it.
Granted, this doesn鈥檛 seem like much of a plot but a richer 70 minutes you won鈥檛 find.
Beckett was adamant that All That Fall be produced only for radio, but after his death the managers of his estate allowed a stage adaptation 鈥� but only if it was staged as a radio play. So Marti Wright鈥檚 set flashes with a red sign 鈥淥N AIR,鈥� the actors are seated until they step up to the microphone and the sound effects 鈥� horses whinnying, chickens clucking, cars starting, trains arriving 鈥� are all produced by the performers on stage. Jeff Harrison鈥檚 lighting is moody and evocative, especially the light coming up from the lectern on Van Paassen鈥檚 face while the rest of the performers remain in shadow.
Radio drama has been called 鈥渢heatre between the ears鈥� and you will be tempted to close your eyes, but Van Paassen鈥檚 physical presence is so seductive your eyes will fly open to watch her transform from coy and slightly flirtatious and, on occasion, bawdy (wishing for 鈥�50 years of twice daily鈥�) to despairing (鈥淗ow can I go on? I cannot鈥�). Punctuated with humour, All That Fall has melancholy echoes of Waiting for Godot.
Van Paassen shares the stage with four others, equally superb: William Samples as Dan, a child-hating old codger for whom counting is 鈥渙ne of the few satisfactions in life.鈥� Samples is also Christy who tries to sell Maddy a load of 鈥渟tydung.鈥� Adam Henderson is gravel-voiced Mr. Barrell and Mr. Slocum, an old admirer of Mrs. Rooney鈥檚. One of the best scenes in the play involves Mr. Slocum trying to hoist fat Mrs. Rooney into his limousine; Henderson puts his shoulder under Van Paassen鈥檚 butt and grunts and strains as she squeaks out 鈥渙h鈥� and 鈥渙h鈥� again.
Gerard Plunkett is old Mr. Tyler who talks of his daughter鈥檚 operation during which they removed 鈥渆verything鈥� and he鈥檚 also Tommy, the station porter who鈥檚 called up to extricate Mrs. Rooney from the limo.
Leanna Brodie portrays the holier-than-thou Miss Fitt and Jerry, the young boy who finally tells Mrs. Rooney why the train was late. One mystery is solved; another one surfaces.
Beckett believed theatre should reflect life: there鈥檚 always a beginning and an end. What happens in between is terrifyingly, sometimes joyously, random. It meanders 鈥� as does All That Fall. But so evocatively, so charmingly, so sweet-and-sourly does the play take its course, I wished it would never end.
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All That Fall runs until Jan. 24 at the Cultch. For tickets and details, call 604-251-1363 or go to
