Lindsay Price is a Canadian playwright dedicated to creating works for middle school students. The promotional material for this play says ‘it is for advanced actors, and is recommended for high schools.’ The text runs in four parallel vertical columns (ladder format) ‘to allow for fuller choral work’, and was written for four actors. This requires much of the dialogue to be spoken by several actors at once even when they’re not saying the same words. These unusual needs complicate direction, word learning and cueing, and prompting. This was the challenge faced by Tristan Cameron for this Studio production. How did they get on?

The enigmatic title refers to the death of a young boy whose time was spent rearranging tins of tuna to the exclusion of almost everything else. The set was just an illuminated large framed dais representing a kitchen cupboard at one end of the avenue acting space, occupied by Young Albert (Joseph Dixon) fixated with his tins. Ms Scully, his unmarried mother, was played calmly and serenely but with an underlying tension by Becca Chiplen, exhibiting her worry about accusations for her role in his death 12 years earlier. ‘Nobody ever said anything. But I could hear the whispers. There wasn’t any real evidence against me.’

Cherry the babysitter also denied her part in the death but much more vehemently, with a forceful performance by Lauren Ryan. Devi Smart as Ms Scully’s mother was interfering in the arguments about their attitude to the child (‘I refuse to let you go to school pregnant. We’ll get a tutor’), accompanied by her husband played by Andy Hill. These two also played a small selection of other roles including Cherry’s parents (‘Just look at him, Cherry. He’s got deprived written all over him’). Devi also acted as The Mediator, announcing changes of scene. Andy’s principal role was as the Minister conducting the funeral service and leading the fragments of hymn singing (‘Why was Albert unhappy? It makes my heart ache to know about the pain that was inside of him’).

12-year-old Albert (Joseph Dixon) stayed aloof from the adults for much of the action but his feelings were revealed later (‘I hear the other kids say that my mum’s crazy, but I’m the one who’s crazy. I don’t fit in anywhere’). His was a composed and poignant performance.

The ghost of Albert, now 24 years old, confused and looking for answers, was convincingly played by Mike Garbutt (‘I’m 24 now. You don’t forget anything when you’re dead’). In the climax of the play he reflects on his death and his feelings about his mother and Cherry as he was 12 years ago. Some of the dialogue was clearly spoken by one actor at a time. However, a significant number of speeches were as a chorus by several actors and often split up, saying some of the chorus lines but not all. In a few moments of the play this led to a lack of clarity where several actors were speaking but not the same dialogue.

The movements of the cast were not quite decisive enough at times and seemed to slow the play a little. The author’s notes say ‘Voices should weave together and not compete for volume. The play jumps quite frequently from the present to different points in the past. This should be done by vocal quality and physical gesture. This production forces you to convert emotion, events and feelings through your voice and voice only.’ It was necessary given the spare set and lack of any significant action but it was largely achieved by a well-chosen cast and rehearsed team.

This was an interesting and different experience, well-executed and absorbing for the most part. The plot points were clear and the performances were sound. The reason for Albert’s death was never revealed. Three different options were offered to the audience by three different characters. The play is set in Canada (mentions of Nova Scotia and baseball) but Tristan wisely did not seek accents from his cast. The production was true, mostly, to the author’s notes and was an intriguing and, at times, moving experience. The audience were challenged to choose between the technique and the plot at times, but the whole team are to be congratulated on the success of this production.