Torontoist.com Review of “The Red Queen Effect”
14 Jan
The Red Queen Effect
REVIEW BY KAORI FURUE
“It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place,” the Red Queen famously said in Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Saw There. Inspired by the story, The Red Queen Effect is a brand new show produced by Seventh Stage Productions that uses elements of Carroll’s classic to present the nightmarish life of a lone female hedge fund associate named Alice. Working with only men, she desperately tries to make herself heard and navigate the underlying power game being played. The main roles are expertly acted, including frustrated Alice (Monica Dottor), her piggish colleague, Travis (Ted Hallett), and her first client/ticket-out-of-obscurity Leo (Gemini Award–winning Nicholas Campbell, best known for DaVinci’s Inquest), but the story itself, while vivid and believable, is a bit cliché. The idea that sexism exists in the workplace—and moreso in male-dominated fields—is hardly surprising. But, the production remains enjoyable due to its talented performers, stark visuals (particularly Melissa-Jane Shaw’s dramatic entrances and exits as the Red Queen), fun dance elements, and clever, obfuscating dialogue.
Photo Credit: Michelle Bailey, Nerdy Girl Designs
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