Brilliant! Doesn’t Blind, But Flickers
Brilliant! the Blinding Enlightenment of Nikola Tesla by Electric Company Theatre is visually spectacular, as long as you’re sitting in front of the stage. Brilliant! plays at the Belfry Theatre from November 11 – December 14, and is a potentially stunning account of Nikola Tesla’s rise and fall from fame in the mid-20th century.
Most associate electricity with Thomas Edison, but Brilliant! illuminates the story of his lesser-known rival, Nikola Tesla, played by Jonathan Young. Directed by Young’s wife, Kim Collier, the play begins at the end of Tesla’s life in 1942, after he dies destitute and the FBI seizes his files. The story then rewinds to Tesla as a young man in Budapest 50 years earlier and follows him as he immigrates to the United States. The narrative then moves chronologically, as Tesla gains fame as the inventor of alternating current and wireless communication, then descends into madness and solitude. The people who originally applauded his achievements eventually abandon him.
This is the first time that Brilliant! has been produced in Victoria. It was originally mounted at the Vancouver Fringe Festival in 1996 and only 45 minutes long, and has also been staged in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since it was first produced twelve years ago, Brilliant! has doubled in length and expanded from a cast of four to a cast of nine. While I didn’t see the original version, I can’t imagine the play being nearly as successful without the additional time and actors.
Young’s embodiment of Tesla is outstanding. He portrays the madness and ego of Tesla realistically and sensitively. The ensemble also deserves credit, as the five supporting actors played multiple parts, including pigeons. They were completely in sync as choreographed FBI agents and as tap dancers in one of the more entertaining scenes, called the Battle of the Currents. In this scene, Edison, played by Anthony F. Ingram, argues that direct current is better than Tesla’s alternating current, and he does it all to a song and dance number titled, “Be Direct With Me, Darling, I’ll Be Direct With You.” Tesla counters that with a powerful tap number, with one of the cast members playing the violin on stage left.
The lighting and multimedia aspects of the play are what the majority of audiences will look forward to. They don’t disappoint and are surprising and memorable at times, as long as you’re within appropriate sight lines of the action. Understandably, the Belfry can be a tough theatre to stage a play in, but I was sitting in the front row on the right-hand side of the balcony, and missed most of an entire scene because of where I was situated. The scene was modeled after a silent film, with titles projected on a large nylon ball at the front of the stage. From my viewpoint, I was unable to read the titles and completely understand the action. Some audience members giggled throughout the scene, and I wish that I could have appreciated the choppy movements and yellow-hued lighting that made the scene look like an old film.
I was also unable to see when actors entered underneath me on my side of the stage, and I can imagine that the folks on the other side of the theatre felt equally ripped off. These staging annoyances made me feel as though the production would be more appropriately mounted in a larger theatre with a larger audience.
That said, the set design was interesting, simple, and appropriate. It consisted of a screen and four steel girders made to look like the bottom of a tower. The screen opened and closed to allow for the entrance and exit of characters and props. It was also simple enough that it didn’t take attention away from the action. I was especially impressed by the scene changes, which were seamless. The simplicity of the set allowed for the passing of time and various locations to occur.
Brilliant! is certainly an impressive production, and I’m sure that most audience members will be satisfied with the special effects and impressive choreography. I’m not sure what I expected, but I left feeling as though Brilliant! is still a work in progress. I was entertained and impressed by most aspects of the production, but I wanted more, maybe even just to see the entire play.
From November, 2008.