Premiere

Edmonton Fringe

5 SUNS (OUT OF 5)

COLIN MACLEAN, EDMONTON SUN FREELANCE

Water is a thoroughly entertaining one-man, drama-documentary that uses effective theatrical techniques, including mime, mask, sound effects and instant character change, to tell the gripping story of the Walkerton water scandal. (For those who may not remember, in May 2000, E. coli bacteria found its way into the Walkerton, Ont., water system. More than 2,000 people were sickened. Seven died. Two brothers associated with the management of the water system are charged.) Instead of using the usual sonorous-voiced documentary approach to the tragedy, writer/director Brad Curtin has chosen to put together a series of observations, interviews and personal experiences (he comes from Walkerton) to show us the impact it had on the town. The first thing you note is Greg Schnurr's ingenious set. It is made up of plastic water bottles, lengths of pipe, hoses and other devices used to carry and transport water. It serves the production well as Curtin employs various parts of it as props in telling his unsettling tale. The main thrust of the story unfolds through the eyes of a kid named Jason and various members of his family. Some of Curtin's characters are humorously over-the-top such as the TV announcer who makes life-and-death pronouncements and when the camera is off, inquires, "Hey, how was my hair?" Others are real. Achingly real. At first, no one knows what is going on and doctors prescribe more and more of the tainted water to battle dehydration in kids. "There's a bug going around," says Jason, echoing the accepted knowledge. The seriousness of the situation comes to devastating life when Jason's best friend, Cole, gets helicoptered out of town in a desperate measure to save his life. "Everyone's scared," Jason confides in us. As the inevitable TV crews appear, a speaker at a town meeting demands, "Why are people, who should be talking to us, talking to television cameras behind closed doors?" Confusion and fear is everywhere. A plague of lawyers descends, distributing pamphlets on how the residents can sue the government. Meanwhile, a little kid is fighting for his life. Curtin is an expressive performer with great ease between his characters, and his split-second timing is flawless. And although Water is theatrical entertainment, it boils with the righteous anger of a community that saw one of its (and our) most basic beliefs - that our water is pure - shattered through government indifference and individual culpability. It is hard to see this show and not share the pain and anger.

Marc Horton The Edmonton Journal - 4 Stars

The Edmonton Journal- 4 stars Curtin Channels his anger When you turn on your tap anywhere in this country, you should be able to get good, clean and safe water. You shouldn't have to boil it. You shouldn't have to have it delivered in blue-tinted carboys. Tap water should be as good as the overpriced stuff that comes in oh-so-hip plastic bottles. It's our right, you'd think. And when the water in your tap makes you sick, when it kills you, you should get angry. Brad Curtin, who grew up around Walkerton, Ont., a town that learned bitter lessons in the spring of 2000 about water that kills, clearly got angry and wrote this touching, honest play about what happens when public water turns into poisoned water. Water also has the cleverest staging seen so far in this year's Fringe. Curtin has constructed a series of pipes that become everything from Walkerton's water system to a doctor's office to a border crossing. It's truly inventive. And he proves himself to be a versatile performer as well, telling the tragic story of Walkerton from a variety of points of view. He opens as an elementary school-aged kid who notes that people aren't feeling all that well around him. He becomes the kid's cousin, who worries when his pal is flown by helicopter to a hospital in London, Ont. Curtin then transforms himself into a panicked mother, a neighborhood gossip, a shyster lawyer, an obnoxious journalist (are there any other kind?), a doctor and a series of victims of Walkerton's tainted water. And Curtin puts the blame where he feels it belongs. The Common Sense Revolution of penny-pinching Conservative Premier Mike Harris meant that testing wasn't as rigorous as it should have been, and the people suffered. Many, in fact, continue to suffer from the after-effects. Water is the kind of political play that's rare. It's fiery, sometimes funny and unfailingly passionate. It should, in fact, make you mad.

Hamilton Fringe

Hamilton View June 10, 2004

Brad Curtin's one man show about the Walkerton water tragedy manages to live up to the hype surrounding the production. Examining the personal impact of the tainted water scandal through the voices of various fictional residents of the town, Curtin gives a very human perspective to a story most of us have only been told through pundits and other talking heads. Seamlessly switching between several characters, he conveys a wide array of viewpoints and manages to find both humour and poignancy in the characters. The show also includes a showpiece set by Greg Schnurr, which becomes almost a character in itself. Highly recommended.

"Fringe Fan Favorite" Award Winner

Water was voted the "Fan Favorite" for the Hamilton Fringe Festival.

Thunder Bay

Marianne Jones

This one-man play about the Walkerton water disaster will probably be one of the most popular shows of the Fringe. Written and performed by actor, teacher and Walkerton native Brad Curtin, it reveals the human side of the tragedy we don't see on the evening news. Playing thirteen characters in quick revolving succession, Curtin displays the gamut of human nature from the self-protective officials to the agonized father being offered six thousand dollars for the destruction of his family's health, to the inanity of neighbors gossiping about how bad a friend looks being interviewed on television about the tragedy. There is enough humour in the characters to make a show about a serious subject entertaining and appealing. The imaginative set design by Greg Schnurr (where else would you see an elbow joint double as a telephone?) and the clever use of masks combined with seamless acting and writing makes this one of this season's must-see shows.

Victoria Fringe

The Craig

Living in London at the time of the Walkerton tragedy, I knew I had to see this production. The most riveting scene was one where the actor channelled the rage and frustration of a man whose family had suffered, and was offered a meagre amount of compensation. Overall, the play captured a wide range of perspectives, from the political hedging, the media circus, and the varying responses of the local residents.
-Gary H. Pon

An innovative set design is the backdrop for a sometimes wrenching examination of the human costs of the Walkerton tragedy. Events may have receded into the past, but in the age of privatization and downsizing, the questions - about responsibility and accountability - take on even more urgency.
-Lisa Kadonaga, Iqaluit, Nunavut

Just came home from seeing Water, a well-constructed, fast-paced series of vignettes about the Walkerton tainted water tragedy. A sombre subject on a minimalist but imaginative set, and - amazingly - the hour contained moments of humour and wit while telling the poignant true story of an incomprehensible tragedy in this small rural Ontario town. The acting shines - a one-man show that includes several convincing characters, from a very young boy to a strident woman at a town hall meeting microphone to the hilarious send-up of the obnoxious Big City reporter covering the event. The masks seemed a bit confusing, but over all it was creative, moving and compelling.

Bravo! I loved it! - C. Thomas, Victoria West

Vancouver Fringe

The Vancouver Westender - 4 stars

Brad Curtin turns water into wine by transforming the Walkerton tragedy into art. Multiple characters explore what really happened, giving a local perspective on the fear people felt as they were trying to find out what was going on. It's easy to get a sense of the outrage at the phalanx of outside experts, lawyers, politicians, media and compensation officers who descended on the town. ("We shouldn't have to watch national television to find out what's happening in our own town," one angry-character says.) At times a bit overwrought, there are still moments of levity. Water is both touching and illuminating.