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Toronto: The art of survival

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  • Toronto: The art of survival

    Toronto Eye Weekly, Canada
    April 1 2004

    The art of survival

    ROGUES OF URFA

    Written and performed by Araxi Arslanian. Directed by Rebecca Brown.
    Presented by Alianak Theatre Productions. To Apr 4. Tue-Sat 8pm; Sun
    mat 2:30pm. Tue-Thu $15; Fri-Sat $20; Sun PWYC. Artword Alternative
    Theatre, 75 Portland. 416-504-7529.

    If you've been diagnosed with a neurological disorder that can cause
    lethal stress-induced hemorrhages, acting might not seem the most
    obvious -- or safest -- of career choices. If Rogues of Urfa is
    anything to go by, however, that choice was definitely the correct
    one for Araxi Arslanian.

    The 32-year-old writer-actor recently (and successfully) fended off
    AVM -- Arteriovenous Malformations -- an uncommon brain condition
    that caused her to have a number of life-threatening grand-mal
    seizures throughout her twenties.

    The illness's impact on Arslanian's behavior led to her being
    expelled from Montreal's National Theatre School and ostracized by
    many of the actors she worked with. This one-woman show is a memoir
    of that time, with Arslanian coming to terms with both her ill health
    and her ill treatment by friends and family.

    That would be enough for a single play, surely, but her own tale is
    ambitiously juxtaposed with that of her grandfather, Hovannes. A
    refugee from the 1915 Armenian genocide, Hovannes escaped from Turkey
    to Canada when, after the ruling Turk majority massacred over a
    million Armenian Christians.

    It's a testament to Arslanian's skill as a playwright that she can
    deal with such weighty issues -- genocide, brain disease -- without
    over-simplifying solemnities or guilt-tripping worthiness. She also
    provides a virtuoso performance, often humorous, with the actress
    ventriloquizing a large cast of characters -- from Hovannes' comrades
    and captors to the petty backstage bitches of theatrical Toronto
    (actors can be jealous sorts, you may be surprised to learn).

    Apart from the fairy tale Arslanian uses to frame the beginning and
    end of the play -- a woodenly metaphoric device I could have done
    without -- this is for the most part slick, tragic entertainment.
    PAUL ISAACS
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