It’s a bit much, eh?
MTC’s latest offers thinly veiled criticism of American imperialism
Barb Stewart

The Innocent Eye Test is Canadian playwright Michael Healey’s attempt at a comic commentary on the ‘Canadian-ness’ of Canadians — for better or worse.

The play tells the tale of Samuel Kneck (Kevin Bundy), an art dealer on the brink of destitution who travels to Tuscany to sell a painting to brash Las Vegas businessman Darryl Plate.

Of course, a few spanners are thrown into the works in the form of a clairvoyant Las Vegas showgirl (Lisa Norton), a drunken Irish couple who are not what they appear to be, and a crass Ukrainian who brings them all together with his mysterious briefcase.

These characters give the polite, innocuous Canadian many foils, but they are crafted with broad strokes offering much humour but little substance. Healey’s attempt to politicize the play after the true identities of the characters are revealed falls flat and is just too silly to be an effective comment on anything.

Yes, Canadians are too nice and too wishy-washy. And yes, theatre-going Canadians don’t like American imperialism, but do we really need these concepts presented in such an obvious manner? Nuance, even in a stage production, can be more powerful than being hammered over the head, and The Innocent Eye Test is simply wielding a ball-peen hammer.

The cast manages to revel in the blatancy of it all, though, with Gord Rand standing-out as the grotesquely stereotypical Ukrainian, Uri, who, with a healthy nod to Eugene Hütz’s performance as the Ukrainian guide in Everything is Illuminated, infuses this hard-luck, truth-speaking character with fearless hilarity and compassion. Tom McCamus is also a treat as the fast-talking Vegas wheeler-dealer Plate, a man who knows he’s the ugly American but makes no apologies for it. C. David Johnson has a delicious time as the sexually and nationally complex James MacAuley, and he camps his way through Irish, Spanish and American accents with ease. Bundy is, of course, benignly entertaining as our Canadian ‘hero,’ who politely but ineffectually deals with all the intrigue unfolding around him in Tuscany.

David Boechler captures the Tuscan scene with pizzazz, and the sets are a definite highlight. Uri’s awakening to the beauty of the world is understandable when we can join the characters poolside (with a fully functioning pool onstage) as they bask in the sun. And Sam’s hotel room, with a giant Mona Lisa watching over the action, is a wonder.

Much like its protagonist, The Innocent Eye Test is a benign piece of work with good intentions. It’s not without its charms but offers little lasting impact on the world.