Need a great night at the theatre? Sure you could fork over 100+ dollars and join the masses at any one of the major productions in Toronto right now.
Or, for $20, you can spend the evening in an intimate back room at Toronto Free Gallery with 37 others watching an intense drama unfold courtesy of two very talented actors and one very talented director.
The 80-minute play opened on Friday, November 25 and shows all the promise of a very successful run. I spoke with Sergio Di Zio after the second show about Shinn’s story and the passion behind its production.
Dying City: Christopher Shinn's Story
“A soldier goes to fight in Iraq and dies,” explains Di Zio. “And the play begins with the soldier’s twin brother coming to see the soldier’s widow. They haven’t seen each other since the funeral which was a year before. And they both have a lot of unanswered questions but different ideas about whether they want those questions answered or not. So it’s about dealing with the past and dealing with grief and dealing with what you’re going to grow with or where you want life to go after something horrendous happens; and whether wanting the truth is what you really want or if wanting the truth is a true thing after all.”
With a cast of two and a tiny set (essentially, a couch), it’s all about the story and the interplay between the characters. “It’s been intense because it’s just been the three of us,” Di Zio says. “Peter Pasyk, Lesley Faulkner and I, trying to work through this really dense, rich, textured play that Christopher Shinn wrote.”
The Characters
Di Zio, who is widely known for his portrayal of Spike Scarlatti on Flashpoint, plays both Craig (the soldier) and Peter (his twin brother) to Faulkner’s Kelly (Craig’s widow) in a storyline that goes back and forth in time. Peter and Craig are completely different in personality (neither even closely resembling Scarlatti), and the dual role showcases Di Zio’s versatility as an actor.
“The beauty of it - and the sadness of the story too - is that one of the characters I play is dead,” he says. The two of them together is kind of perfect because they finish each other off, like a yin and yang world. And that’s what happens with siblings; you wind up being very different from your brother, from your sister, just because they take up a different space. So between the two of them, there’s a lot I feel I identify with; parts of me with Craig, parts of me definitely with Peter too. They’re layered characters; they’re like real people. I don’t think there’s any kind of heroes or anti-heroes in this; they’re human beings, warts and all. On the level. And that’s kind of great for an actor, to do that; to inhabit somebody who’s actually much closer to a real human being.”
Peter Pasyk
Director Peter Pasyk exudes a beautiful, quiet authority, which infuses every inch of this production. Says Di Zio: “He is a very inspiring human being. I met him a few years ago and then we had taken some acting classes together. When he looks at you, there’s an honesty to Peter. He’s a very true human being and he’s very daring. He scared the heck out of us during rehearsals. And I had a feeling that’s the way it would go with him. But that’s also why I really wanted to work with him.”
For Love of the Theatre
There’s no doubt that Di Zio’s starpower is steadily growing. Flashpoint has been increasingly popular over its four seasons and recently premiered on Ion Television in the United States, becoming the top-rated new show for the station. His own character, Spike, has enjoyed more prominence, onscreen and in the script. But rather than interfere with his ability to delve into projects like Dying City, the success has opened doors for him.
“The beauty of doing Flashpoint is I get some time off; and with the time off I also made some money during the year where I could do a project out of love as opposed to doing it always for more money or whatever it is,” he says. “So Dying City was a perfect project for that; just the script itself I found so touching on a personal level, and truthful and honest. That’s the challenge every night, that we have to try to find the truth and honesty of Christopher Shinn’s very true words.”
“I’m kind of living my dream,” he continues. “This is about as good as it gets I think.”
Dying City is presented by surface/underground theatre and Elisa’s Boy Productions. For more information on the performance schedule and to purchase tickets, visit Dying City.
Ramona Zacharias - Ramona has been a freelance writer for ten years, focusing on arts, entertainment and pop culture, with a more recent dabbling in travel. ...
