On The Inside

624 Productions—Son of Warehouse

On The Inside was written and performed by Iris Dyck. She performs two characters, Ivy and Colleen, two teen-aged girls who have been institutionalized due to mental health issues. I don’t know if either of the characters are autobiographical, but I suspect that this is the case.

Their stories are handled with great sensitivity and insight. The writing is succinct, but does contain enough clues to create well-rounded characters. The staging is sparse, but that only allows you, as an audience member to be more focused on the actor.

It is always gratifying to discover new or unknown performers who have the potential to go on to bigger and better things. This actress appears quite young, but is a good indicator of the kind of talent that can be found out there.

It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there as this actress did. Congratulations Iris. Excellent work. Keep doing it.

NOTE: the performance I saw ran 30 minutes, not 45 as indicated in the programme.

Michelle Cook