Sins of the Father

This year at Factory Theatre, they have boldly ventured away from the lily-white Toronto theatre scene with all plays written and mostly acted by persons of color. Some pearl clutching was involved: "Sure that's great but will they be good?" Despite the sea-lioning, the season still needed strong contenders, unfair though expectations may be. Acquiesce by David Yee made an excellent start.

His biracial character Sin seemed to own a pair of magical luggage (calling J.K. Rowling to the courtesy phone). They contained a sink for cleaning up, Buddhist incense for not-so-filial sons, and other odds and ends. He's in Hong Kong to see his cousin Kai (Richard Lee), and to wrap up, quite unwillingly, funeral arrangements for his dead, and estranged, father (John Ng).

As the play progressed, and what looked at first to be flashbacks and interstitials, such as those with his girlfriend Nine (Rosie Simon) become increasingly surreal: a talking Paddington bear, vanishing letters; with scenes and characters intruding and overlapping, there's a feeling that we are actually witnessing a man breaking down and experiencing hallucinations. Perhaps one of the characters, most likely Sin, is stuck in Bardo (the Buddhist's "purgatory").

Though Nine play a crucial role, it's a play mostly about men. But maybe that's the point: toxic masculinity has no winners, and a world without women voices can only have suffering.