"what lies beneath"

BROTHERS KEEPER - SUBTEXT THEATER COMPNAY

By Terry Boyle, Irish American News

The question of ‘smotherly love’ raised by both plays is perhaps laid on a little too thickly in Leigh Johnson’s plays Dolly Llama and Orion’s Belt.  While I was intrigued by the twining of these plays, there was the same overriding theme of the perversity of a mother’s love.  Both plays ran longer than I had anticipated.  The shorter one, Dolly Llama, had some very interesting ideas that could have been developed further with a little more time, but as it was it felt under written; whereas, Orion’s Belt, laboured the ideas and needed to be tighter.  Overall, the showing of both plays at one time may have not been the best choice.  In terms of acting, I certainly preferred the cast of Orion’s Belt.  Renae Stone, Nathan Wainwright and Michael Dritto embodied their characters with skill and talent.  This play could have worked had it been played without the other one, but when lumped with a shorter and less developed work, it suffered.  The time differences between them, the first one much shorter than the latter, also worked against what could have been a more enjoyable experience.  On top of which, the seats were most uncomfortable.  here.