Review: (Toronto) Pieces of Me

That Which One Cannot Escape
by Winna Tse
@tsewinna

Do you have a past that you’re trying to escape from? Pieces of Me, a musical drama brought to us by Promise Productions, is about a restless wife, Pamela (Shahi Teruko),  trying to escape her past and live a stable life with her adoring husband, Parker (Sheldon Neil). Written and directed by Deon Denton, Pieces of Me is a lively production with music, dancing and acting all in one. The show runs for over three hours which can make for a very long and exhausting production. I found the music to be too repetitive at times and dragged on unnecessarily.  However, there are many good moments and it’s very evident the cast is incredibly talented. I loved the dancing which I found engaging, fun and well-choreographed.  My favourite musical piece is “Putting my chips on love” in Act I which is soothing and well performed by Roberta Baird who plays Dedra. I must give huge props to Denton for writing and composing all the music which is impressive for such a young playwright. All in all, the production flowed quite well. It is cohesive and the music and lyrics added great value in narrating the story. 

The ending is perfect as it brought the story full circle where Pamela finally confronts her inner demon Cora (Keriece Harris). Although, the relationship between Pamela and Parker forms the basis of this play, it is the relationship between Pamela and Cora that I find most enlightening despite the brevity of their interaction. The scene between these two women particularly struck a chord in me. It creates a mixture of anger, frustration and heartbreak but it also imparts to me an important lesson – the importance of forgiveness. Forgiveness is what we need to move on and prevent us from trying to simply escape our problems. It is the source we need to finally be at peace with ourselves.

Runs Nov. 20 - 30.
Running Time:  3 hours