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eye WEEKLY                                              January 5 1994
Toronto's arts newspaper                      .....free every Thursday
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ON STAGE                                                      ON STAGE

                              THE SQUEEZE
   Featuring Hume Baugh, Natalie Breton, Derek Metz, Colin O'Meara.
        Written by Ruth Biderman. Directed by Jennifer Brewin.
              At Tarragon Extra Space, 30 Bridgman Ave. 
                    To Jan 22. $11-$14. 531-1827.

                                  by
                           ROBERT ARMSTRONG


Political comedy is a rare beast on the Canadian stage. Which is kind
of strange, given that it dominates our radio, TV and newspaper
headlines. Just in time for the next round of budget cuts and tax hikes
comes The Squeeze, at the Tarragon Extra Space.

The bureaucrats at the Ministry of Social Welfare arrive for work one
morning to find a directive lying on their desks. They must cut the
welfare budget by 70 per cent before five o'clock that afternoon or
else. Suddenly everyone's personal grudges and secret agendas boil to
the surface as the bureaucrats struggle to keep their own jobs. And,
once word of the budget slashing leaks to the public, a mob gathers
outside the office building, threatening to tear down the walls if the
cuts go through.

Into this maelstrom wanders a guy named Bob, an innocent who firmly
believes he can talk the so-called public servants out of making the
cuts, if only they would listen. But this is a government office, so
Bob only gets the royal runaround. Meanwhile, the mob grows angrier.

"This is a farce, complete with mistaken identities and personal
secrets. We didn't start rehearsals by having deep discussions about
politics," says director Jennifer Brewin during her lunch break in a
rehearsal hall dominated by four oversized desks (essential
bureaucratic equipment), each painted a beautiful shade of welfare
green.

"The bureaucratic characters aren't simply buffoons, in that they lack
morality -- they're just very myopic," says Brewin. "They're being
asked to play a role they've never played before. Whatever solution
they settle on will determine future public policy. But all they're
really concerned about is their own personal agendas."

Brewin, who read more than her share of new plays while at Theatre
Columbus, says that Ruth Biderman's script is unusual for a first-time
writer.

"Ruth has created nine different personalities, each with separate and
distinct intentions," she says.

The production also brings together a strong cast, several of whom,
including Derek Metz as "Bob," have never acted in Toronto before.
Somehow, Brewin has to shoehorn seven actors, along with those four
huge desks, onto the small stage of the Tarragon Extra Space.

"I kept finding that the space dictated the shape of the performance.
So we just started with the desks and worked from there. But the
combination of politics and farce makes everything oddly playable."

And just what are the politics of the piece? Brewin laughs:
"Bureaucracy is the politics of our time. And the show is about the
last day of bureaucracy as we know it. So there's a certain futuristic
feeling to the story.

"But I don't think Canadians are about to tear down the walls of
Parliament," she adds. "Yet."


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