Dionysus in Stony Mountain

Last week, our journalism classes had to attend a play for an assignment. The play we saw this year was Dionysus in Stony Mountain, written by Steven Ratzlaff. The play was at the Rachel Browne Theatre, a small and intimate theatre in the exchange.

I was looking forward to seeing this play as Steven Ratzlaff was my grade 11 english teacher. I knew he was into Winnipeg theatre as an actor and playwright, and was curious to see his work. The one thing I remembered from high school was that the kids, myself included, never understood Mr. Ratzlaff. Everything he said went straight over our heads. Chalk it up to youth and immaturity, we found his class hard, because it was way beyond our level. We knew he was ridiculously smart, and oftentimes felt sorry for him that he had to teach high school snots.

Dionysus in Stony Mountain is wordy, thought provoking, head scratching and sometimes over the audiences heads...but I'm so proud to say that finally, as an adult, I get Mr. Ratzlaff. Yes, the language used at times was heavy and extensive, but I found the play to be extremely well written and intellectually stimulating.

The play consists of two acts with only two actors in each act. Ross McMillan plays James, a prisoner at Stony Mountain who is up for parole. He's gone off his meds which worries the prison psychiatrist played by Sarah Constible. James is philosophical, quotes Nietzsche and turns the table on Heidi (the pyschiatrist). Towards the end of the first act James is asking the questions and making Heidi think twice about her job. She promises to quit if James continues to take his meds.

The second act is Heidi and her uncle Eric (played by Ross McMillan again) at Heidi's apartment. Uncle Eric has been sent there by Heidi's parents to investigate why she quit her job and dropped off the map. The second act is easier to follow, but still has smart dialogue and makes you think. The conversations are deep and intense, mixed with lines of humour to lighten the mood. Uncle Eric is a great character. Sarcastic, witty and seemingly shallow at first, he grows on the audience.

I thought the actors did a fantastic job. Ross McMillan was believable as both a psychiatric patient and uncle Eric. His mannerisms and the way he delivered his lines changed with each character. The amount of dialogue these two had to memorize for this play is commendable. Even through dense and wordy language, they conveyed vulnerability and pain.

Dionysus in Stony Mountain is a play that forces you to think, but it's well worth it.