Review: (Montreal) Big Shot (WildSide)

Here’s your Big Shot: a cinematic snapshot of a tragedy
Jon Lachlan Stewart is an elegant whirligig of energy 
by Sarah Deshaies
@sarahdeshaies

A shot rings out in a cabin of the SkyTrain.

Over the course of just over an hour, the bullet’s story will be revealed by those touched by it: who shot it, who provoked it, who witnessed it, who it struck.

Big Shot, which has toured in several festivals, including the Toronto and Winnipeg Fringes, is an intricate story woven by performer, playwright and Edmonton native Jon Lachlan Stewart. 

The Question... Jon Lachlan Stewart on Big Shot (WildSide)

The Gun. The Bullet. The Target. The Eyes.
by Estelle Rosen

Jon Lachlan Stewart is a playwright, performer and director originally from Edmonton Alberta, a graduate of Studio 58 in Vancouver, and an upcoming graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada. He seeks to address dark contemporary issues that continue to wound society through history: issues of race, sex politics, urban violence, violence among youth. Mr. Stewart is committed as a bilingual artist in Canada, and creates physical work in the Lecoq tradition of mime. Selected playwriting credits include The Genius Code (Catalyst Theatre creator-in residence), Big Shot (four municipal theatre awards, still on tour), Dog: a 1950’s Homelife Nightmare (best independent production award), Le Portrait Gooble (French tour, four Vancouver Jessie awards), and Little Room (two Edmonton Sterling nominations). He is currently developing two projects: a textless mix of breakdance and clown addressing gun violence in youth called Kids With Guns, and an examination of post-war PTSD from a child’s perspective, in the Greek structure, called Edith Rex, commissioned by Shadow Theatre.

CHARPO: When bystanders are asked to describe the perpetrator witnessed in a violent occurrence, there are often wild variations in descriptions.  In Big Shot, you're taking this a step further by six different perspectives on a split second of time between the bullet leaving a gun and hitting the target. What was your motivation to write this play; what are the challenges of being both writer and performer and combining dramatic text with dance? And just what is meant by 'slow motion theatre to pry the wide eyes open'?

LACHLAN-STEWART: After touring Big Shot to over 11 cities, one thing that audiences are really enjoying is how the show imitates the motions and sequences in famous Hollywood action movies (a la John Woo / Quentin Tarantino) in a theatrical way. We're like a live action movie on stage. It just so happens that all of these sequences move the story forward, all culminating towards a shocking finish. From our experiences, we decided to coin the phrase "slow motion theatre".