By Anchuli Felicia King
CATERPILLAR EYEBROW ARCH – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Dramatic Premise
As we enter the theatre, we see three rows of desks. A large mirror, at the rear of the stage, reflects our image back to us and renders us part of the world in which the play exists.
The (unnamed) business consultant is already sitting at one of the desks in the back row. She looks drained of energy. Her head is bowed. She does not look up as we enter.
The house lights dim and The Consultant’s head snaps upwards. Suddenly, she’s addressing us in a breathless narration which will continue, without a break, for over an hour.
Photo Credit – STC / Prudence Upton
We soon learn that The Consultant is an American of Vietnamese heritage. Like so many from Asian migrant families before her, she’s overachieved at school in order to prove her worth. Her right to the American dream does not come for free. She’s a third-generation migrant, but there’s still no American birthright. She still has to earn it.
After graduating from Stanford, The Consultant has already won her position at a top-tier management consultant firm. But now she’s biding her time on the (figurative) beach.
She lies in wait. Ready to pounce when an opportunity arises. But the wait frustrates her. She occupies her time by researching the penis-to-body-length ratio of various species. Horses, somewhat counter-intuitively, fare badly in her research.
Photo Credit – STC / Prudence Upton
Finally, a golden opportunity to shine presents itself.
Rex, a handsome (but married) partner enlists her assistance. Their task is to travel to Youngstown, Ohio, and help an industrial lighting factory make the tough decisions required to remain solvent.
In between recommending staff cutbacks at the factory, Rex and The Consultant start engaging in their own exploration of bodies corporate back at their hotel.
Photo Credit – STC / Prudence Upton
American Signs explores the darkness found in the shadows cast by the corporate ladder.
The human cost of corporate decisions. The hurdles faced by women – particularly women of colour – in a corporate world dominated by men. How the participants massage the limits of their morality. And, finally, what becomes of those who stumble during their inexorable climb?
A Mesmerising Performance
This is an era of stunning one-woman plays. Eryn Jean Norvill in the original STC production of The Picture of Dorian Gray. Heather Mitchell in RBG. Justine Clarke in Julia.
Joining them, now, is the wonderful Catherine Văn-Davies.
Photo Credit – STC / Prudence Upton
Văn-Davies delivers a powerhouse performance. Pacing between the desks as she tells her story. Sitting when the narrative requires some breathing space. Climbing onto a table and exulting her position when emboldened to do so. Embodying each of the side-characters she inhabits.
I found her performance believable and compelling.
It was intimate. It was claustrophobic. It was haunting.
Photo Credit – STC / Prudence Upton
I’ll resist the temptation to reveal how the plays ends. Suffice to say that The Consultant was within my reach when we left the small theatre. I felt a strong urge to reach out and grasp her shoulder.
To re-assure the character? To acknowledge the performance?
I’m not sure. Either way, I resisted that urge too.
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