Review: (Toronto) Someone Else

Kristen Thomson
(photo credit: Guntar Kravis / cropped) 

The Shadows of Middle Age
by Greg Bunker

Head check! Crow's Theatre’s Someone Else is a black comedy that has you in fits of laughter, asking “Did that just happen?!” one moment, then, “Did that just happen?!” in horror the next. It’s a deep, dark rollercoaster ride well worth the admission.

The story begins with comedian Cathy (Kristen Thomson, of I, Claudia fame, and also the playwright) and her doctor husband Peter (Tim Rooney), whose 18-year marriage is on the rocks. Cathy’s feelings of discontent have come to a head and, suspecting Peter of having an affair, Cathy turns to marriage counselling for help. She sees their lives diverging; their marriage is emptying out before her, and Cathy’s struggling to stop it, or at least understand it. Peter, however, appears unconcerned.