Initially premiering in Germany in 2007, Montreal’s Imago Theatre has selected Caridad Svich’s The Tropic of X as part of their 2019-2020 season. Directed by Sophie Gee, Imago’s production of The Tropic of X is performed on a simple-yet-quite-elaborate set, around the idea of a sea of garbage, with minimal props and most of the play being directed outwards at the audience. The play follows street-kid, arcade-junkie lovers Maura (Arlen Aguayo) and Mori (Braulio Elicer) through their lives among garbage, complete honesty, difficult and challenging scenarios and holds nothing back from the audience’s view.
The set’s walls were a dull-grey, illustrating the tired and old surroundings of the story, yet very colorful at the same time in faded tones on the set’s graffiti, as if the location was rich in history, leading to the sort of dystopian slum it was at the present. The show addresses consumerism (especially with the waves of garbage, doubling at times as set pieces, behind the actors), capitalism, and colonialism. The characters address their language as “la lingua franca” – something between the influences of Spanish and English, not the native language of the land they live on. For Maura and Mori, the culture of sex work (and sex tourism as a common practice), political corruption/kidnapping of individuals as well as drugs (cocaine, etc.) used as a currency and influence between individuals.
The Tropic of X is a difficult, heart-wrenching and emotional love story between two caught in a period where corruption, deceit, disgust, hate, prejudice and control over others causes chaos, screaming at the audience for a full 90 minutes. Both of the lead characters – Maura (Aguayo) and Mori (Elicer) – have idealistic visions of a better life with each other, but cruel reality of what is happening around them continues to interfere and rob them of their ability to escape it all. All of this on a Latin-American landscape, with remnants of what appears to be North American trash and influences behind them.
Mori and Maura are joined in their trash-filled slum by regular appearances from Kiki (Victor Andres Trelles Turgeon), a trans sex-worker/drug dealer who seems to be simultaneously supporting a friendship with Mori and Maura while also being at times an enemy or even more stress and trouble for them. Turgeon’s performance as Kiki was electric from start-to-finish, keeping up a passionate, expressive and very strong performance throughout the evening – and doing it all in a pair of high heels.
Eric Davis, who played every villain in the performance, including the non-Latino sex-tourist “Fabien”, representing colonialism in Latin America, while also playing the role of “Frankie” later on – a soldier who is maintaining order, while still suffering under a political regime himself. The role of Fabien is one that starts by somewhat charming the audience (as well as Mori), yet keeps the audience on its toes, feeling that something is not quite right. Davis had one of the most difficult and challenging mix of roles of the performance, to play one of the most charming, yet evil, psychotic, manipulative and destructive characters imaginable, and moving to playing a taunting political guard who goes from 0-100 quickly, showing power over Maura, taunting her and then using his rifle to severely injure her, thinking nothing of it.
Elicer’s role as Mori required theatrical finesse and confidence to perform as he did in this production. Elicer’s role moved through many painful, difficult and violent moments throughout the production, while showing moments of being a “tough-guy” in the beginning while building a bond with Maura only to have everything fall away. The relationship between Mori and Maura simultaneously falters and revives itself at several points throughout the performance, each time to a different external factor, with both of them taking turns in staying true to each other no matter how difficult things become in the storyline.
A very difficult production with many challenges, set designer Eo Sharp’s creative and very detailed set gives the effect of an ocean, while also playing with elements of urban slum and garbage. The wall at the front of the set plays an extra dramatic effect that just adds an extra dramatic factor to the impact of the story’s ending, right before the lights go out on the performance.
The Tropic of X runs at Centaur Theatre until February 8th. For tickets, check out the Centaur Box Office website or call (514) 288-1229.
Additional note – Absence of specific trigger warnings:
Although the performance quality of this work was very strong by the artists and crew, with the inspiration and dedication to pursue such a challenging, daring, uncomfortable and controversial work highly commendable, there are certainly presence of strong specific triggers for individuals–which are not specified on any of the promotional material. These include (but are not limited to): Strong sexual themes, scenes of assault, violence and abuse.
