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HUMA 2690 Theatre Review Examples Focused, Detailed, & Analytical Essays
Introduction #1:
In the theatrical play Moss Park, writer George F. Walker teaches the outside world
what kinds of struggle that young adolescents face while growing up in a community filled with
poverty and poor opportunity. The director of the play, Patrick McDonald, embraces the
storyline of the play by creating an environment that portrays the performance in the best
possible setting. Moss Park depicts two young adolescents who fear that they will always be in
pursuit of a successful future for themselves and especially for their toddler. Bobby (Graeme
McComb) and Tina (Haley McGee) also face the upcoming pressures of a second child that is en
route into their troubled lives. This theatre review is based on the performance of two lost and
scared young adults who dream big with little opportunity. The stage and the setting created for
the play Moss Park, teach more to the audience about Bobby and Tinas lives than any
dialogue between both characters would.
When attempting to understand the meaning of Moss Park, one would find that the
stage set up for the play is an important semiotic space which tells the audience a lot about the
lives of Bobby and Tina. By this I mean that the stage is set up so that it displays what Bobby
and Tinas lives were like as children and how their lives are in the present. What shows the
audience this is that there are two parts to the stage, the section in front of the fence where Bobby
and Tina carry out their dialogue and the section behind the fence, which has junk scattered all
around it. The back section represents their lives in the past when they were younger and
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experienced problems with their parents, such as Bobbys alcoholic father and Tinas sick
mother. Now, for the front of the stage I specifically looked at the garbage container and how it
is completely full and starting to overfill with garbage. To me the garbage container was a direct
metaphor of Bobby and Tinas lives because just like the overflowing garbage can, Bobby and
Tina are experiencing an overflow of problems in their lives with not being able to gain a
steady/supportive income or place a permanent roof over their childs head. This metaphor
between the set up of the stage and Bobby and Tinas lives, give the audience a strong sense of
what the life of the two struggling young adolescents is like.
Introduction #2
Partially enclosed by a wall of chain-link fencing, surrounded by a sprawl of
miscellaneous trash, lie two distressed young adults in a situation just as messy as the park
theyre standing in. As a sequel to the 1994 play Tough!, playwright George F. Walkers newest
title Moss Park is now being performed in collaboration with Green Thumb Theatre at Torontos
historic Theatre Passe Muraille until November 16th. Director Patrick McDonald effectively
depicts the story of a young on-and-off couple caught at a major crossroads in their lives.
Burdened with their latest unplanned pregnancy, and facing the threat of eviction, Tina (played
by Haley McGee) and Bobby (played by Graeme McComb) are forced to sort out their
unpromising futures. Through the understated yet careful use of set, lighting, and sound Moss
Park convincingly portrays the bleak realities of poverty and abandonment in an urban setting.

Example Paragraph #1:
One of the most symbolic objects of the set that I find to tell the most about the essence
of childhood within the play is the stuffed teddy bear that has its arm caught up in the fence. It is
commonly known amongst individuals that a stuffed animal of any sort represents playfulness,
innocence, and most of all childhood. By having the teddy bears arm intertwined in the fence,
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this represents that the conditions of Moss Park captures and holds onto the innocence of
children. More specifically, it signifies that Bobby and Tina had their childhood taken away at a
young age because they were not given the best opportunity or learning experiences from their
parents. This metaphor of the teddy bear stuck in the fence can also be an example of the life that
Tina and Bobby might leave behind to their children. This might be the case if either parent is
unable to gain some sort of financial stability causing their childrens innocence to be confined
to the poverty that surrounds Moss Park.

Example Paragraph #2:
Another way in which the fairly intricate set discretely reflects the struggles experienced
by an urban underclass is through the use of the two park benches. As the plot progresses, the
audience becomes so quickly immersed in the cleverly-timed dialogue and faced-paced
interactions between the characters that the set almost becomes a static backdrop to the action.
However, throughout the play, both McGee and McComb make important use of the set as a
means of portraying the dynamics between their characters and the bleakness of their situation.
For example, in several instances, McGee stands on top of one of the benches yelling at Bobby
about getting his life together while McComb sits on the edge of the opposite bench with his
head in his hands. Such methods of blocking demonstrate how the benches act as a means of
subtly yet effectively illustrating the power relations between both characters. In another scene,
upon being nagged about his inability to keep a stable job, McComb rashly bangs his head
against the seat of the bench in frustration. Through the use of set, both of these examples
demonstrate the reality of a distressed and dysfunctional couple struggling to maintain a
relationship and provide for their family under the conditions of poverty.

Example Paragraph #3:
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Sound is also used throughout the play as a means of convincingly portraying the realities
of lower-class urban living experienced by Bobby and Tina. The play opens up to the sounds of
dogs barking and sirens ringing - immediately portraying the aggressive and disorderly
environment that it is set in. Through this loud, chaotic, and discomforting soundscape, sound
designer Julie McCann introduces the audience to the main characters troubling situation. The
imagery of dogs barking again conveys notions of danger that are characteristic in thinking about
lower-income, inner-city neighbourhoods. In the same way, the sound of blaring sirens appearing
from beginning to end, maintain a sense of anxiety and unrest among the audience just as Bobby
and Tinas dialogue do. However, the sirens also act as an important symbol in the play.
Triggered by his short attention span, Bobby is prompted to stop whatever hes doing and watch
what is happening every time he hears the sound of a siren. In many ways, this reflects his
inability to focus on priorities without giving up or getting sidetracked. With blatant emphasis
put on Bobby every time a siren sounds, the audience is called to wonder wether or not he will
continue his urgent discussion with Tina or succumb to the temptation of this distraction. The
final scene of the play offers a hint of optimism in light of this ongoing inner-conflict
experienced by Bobby after he decides to stay with Tina rather than chasing after a group of
police cars on their way to a crime scene. Given this, the audience can assume that a much
greater decision has also been made in his mind - one that involves him and Tina finding a way
out of poverty without crime.

Example Paragraph #4:
One object that stood out in the set that supported the type of lifestyle Bobby and Tina
were living was the sign that was placed on the street light pole that authoritatively stated No
Dumping. This sign is a perfect object in the setting of the play because it presents that there is a
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commanding presence of government control within Moss Park. The irony of the sign, which
makes it meaningful to the play, is that although it demands for no dumping there is in fact
garbage and waste all over the park. I find that this signifies a lot of the problems that individuals
who live in Moss Park have because it depicts how there is no re-enforced authority in the lives
of many who live there. For Bobby and Tina, this is evident when both characters realize that
they are in need of a home and financial assistance but cannot seem to find any authoritative
assistance that will help them towards attaining these goals. Therefore the No Dumping sign
shows a false sense of authority and care for Moss Park because there is no actual care for the
environment within it and no care for the individuals who live in the area of Moss Park.
Conclusion #1:
Although McDonalds portrayal of Moss Park is filled with clever moments of humour
and enjoyment, its proficiency in tapping into the realities of life for Torontos underclass
qualifies it as a piece worth pondering and remembering. The effective use of set, lighting, and
sound invite audiences into a world that is far from imaginary and introduces them to a pair of
troubled yet endearing characters whose struggles are embodied by thousands of Torontonians
today.

Works Cited