“You’re like this beautiful sexy chick that has every guy in your
class whacking off to you...” –
Ira Slatsky
Oren
Safdie, one of Montréal’s best known playwrights across
North America, finally gets a world premiere in his home town.
Infinithéâtre is proud to present
Unseamly, directed by Sarah
Carlsen & Guy Sprung, from Feb. 11-Mar.
9 at Bain St. Michel. This unsettling piece focusing
on the fashion world stars Arlen Aguayo Stewart, Howard
Rosenstein and Jonathan Silver.
Inspired by a variety of sexual harassment
allegations brought against well-known clothing companies, Unseamly
focuses its attention on an industry that has become synonymous for pushing the
boundaries on sexuality while inflaming debates as to what is ethically
acceptable.
In
Unseamly, a young woman seeks legal advice to initiate charges of
sexual harassment against her former boss, Ira Slatsky, the CEO of an
international clothing company known for its risqué billboards. Female sexuality
confronts male corporate power. Who is telling the truth? Who is manipulating
whom? How far should/can a young woman go to take down a
predator?
Is it possible that
sexual harassment, undermining women, taking advantage of innocence, and the
inherent corrupting influence of power and wealth may never be eradicated?
Unseamly is based on a variety of events and journalistic allegations
that are in the public domain. These news articles include both false
accusations and stories of people being paid off. Truth is elusive and too often
written by the victors. In Unseamly, the characters present their point
of view and audiences get to decide what they think. Weekly
post-show ‘Talkback Tuesdays’ offer an opportunity to do this in
public.
For Safdie,
the kernel that created the play came from having a daughter, “Suddenly, I
started seeing the world differently. Victoria’s Secret for 10 year olds, the
highly suggestive ads, they all made me feel that there has to be consequences
to this; I saw a perfect metaphor for the time we live in. Malina, the main
character in the play, is a product of this world. She is supposed to be as
desensitized to casual sex as her boss, but that's not exactly how it plays
out.” Is Malina using her sexual powers to orchestrate a shakedown, a spiteful
lover acting out in revenge or is she being taken advantage of? He continues,
“Personally, I fear that there is a breakdown of human morality, which is what
keeps me writing every day.”
Infinitheatre’s
mandate is to tackle issues and themes that are important to our contemporary
world. From Artistic Director and Unseamly Co-Director Guy Sprung: “This is a gutsy,
provocative play that is certain to elicit serious thinking and heated
discussion on the genesis of, and responsibility for, sexual harassment in the
workplace. For him, a co-directing team for this production was the only way to
go, “A male playwright and a male director as the sole voices staging a play
about female exploitation in the workplace? I don’t think so! Thanks to Sarah Carlsen who had the guts to jump
on board as the co-pilot of this project.”
Coming of age,
Co-Director Carlsen realized the effect her body, femininity and youth had on
the world around her, “Our society adores youth, particularly female
youthfulness. We are obsessed with chasing youth, preserving youth, touching
youth.” For her, Unseamly captures that moment where a young woman is
invited to sit at the table with the big boys and thinks she can handle it. She
is seduced by the power, money and unique charisma of Ira Slatsky, a fashion
tycoon whose clothing brand and marketing techniques define the lifestyle of a
particular generation of young women and men. Carlsen continues, “Youth and
money are a heady combination. They accessorize each other so fantastically.”
Carlsen is drawn to this script the way she would be drawn to an accident scene
in front of her house, “The collision has already happened and now people are
gathering around to see just how gruesome it is. You think to yourself, ‘That
could have been me or my friend’.”
“What finally emerges
as truth is less a function of what actually happens than who holds the
power…”
- Adam
Unseamly
Infinithéâtre at Bain
St. Michel, February 11 – March 9
5300,
rue St-Dominique (corner Maguire)
Tuesday
to Saturday at 8:00 pm, Sunday matinee at 2:00pm
Tickets:
Regular:
$25, Students/Seniors: $20, Groups: $17, Infinithéâtre 6Packs available (6 tickets for
$75)
Box Office: 514
987-1774 ext. 104, online at www.infinitheatre.com
with PayPalTicket sales at the door are CASH
ONLY
