Review: (Toronto) Memorial (Next Stage)

Mark Crawford
(Photo Credit: Jacklyn Atlas)

The New Year starts...well
by Shannon Christy

Memorial is a play about a larger than life character, “Dylan” (Mark Crawford), losing this big life to cancer and planning his memorial with his longtime fiancé, Trevor (Pierre Simpson), and his sister, Ruth (Mary Francis Moore). However, this is not a play about death as much as it is a play about life.  This has been written so many times that it is becoming cliché but Playwright Steven Gallagher, Director D Jeremy Smith, Dramaturg Toby Malone, and Lighting Designer Michelle Ramsay have achieved a truly great work.

They do this by taking us on a journey through Dylan’s life. This is quite the feat given that the stage consists of a bed, two rugs, a chair, and several empty frames hanging by wires in the air. Lighting Designer Michelle Ramsay is instrumental in aiding the audience by employing different hues to signify the past and present. The past is represented by bright amber while the present is a sombre blue.