‘Stuff Happens,’ about U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, returns to Toronto – Yahoo! Canada News
General December 15th, 2009
‘Stuff Happens,’ about U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, returns to Toronto – Yahoo! Canada News
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Fri Nov 13, 3:43 PM
By Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press
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TORONTO – When David Hare’s hit political play “Stuff Happens” had its Canadian premiere in March 2008, it was showered with praise but the comical bits were often met with nervous laughter from audience members.
The Bush administration was still in power then and the play’s subject – the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq – was still a “deeply personal topic” for many, says director Joel Greenberg.
“Some of it was funny when we did the play,” said Greenberg, who oversaw the Studio 180 production at the Berkeley Street Theatre.
“But audiences weren’t quite sure when laughter was appropriate or not.”
It returns to Toronto this weekend, this time at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, and Greenberg has said he’s “very curious” to see how the audience will react now that the Bush administration is no longer in power.
“What I think will be fascinating is to see how audiences listen and react to people who, only a few years beforehand, were able to make decisions that affected the whole world,” he said in an interview conducted earlier this year, when Mirvish announced it would mount the play.
“Stuff Happens” blends documented public-record information with theatrical invention of what may have gone on behind the scenes of the Bush administration through its early days to its march into Iraq in 2003.
The title stems from a quote from former secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld about violence in Baghdad following the invasion: “Stuff happens … And it’s untidy, and freedom’s untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things.”
The humour largely stems from the lines delivered by president George W. Bush while the most sympathetic character is former secretary of state Colin Powell.
Other figures on stage include former vice president Dick Cheney, ousted and executed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, former British prime minister Tony Blair and former CIA director George Tenet.
“There’s still an intense fascination about (Bush) and the other principle players, some of who are still very public,” added the Toronto-based director.
“I think a piece that continues to stay is the combination of dismay and still feeling puzzled is the best word I can come up with – but having strong feelings about what the Bush government was doing, and not being in favour of what they were doing,” he explained.
“They still had the power and the aggressive nature just to go ahead and to see that and to hear that again is pretty sobering.”
“Stuff Happens” runs at the Royal Alexandra through Dec. 23.
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