Theatre Review: Vigil (A Missing Link

Theatre Company)
From the first terse words of Kemp a lonely and long ignored malcontent to the final
wordless and touching tableau, Vigil by Canadian playwright, director and actor, Morris Panych,
is a deliciously dark and witty comedy with a deep soul and unexpected ending.
Vigil is an odd couple grudge match that pits the scrupulous and scathing Kemp (Colin Legge)
against the elderly and brittle mute, Grace (Carol Robinson-Todd). Kemp has been summoned
by his dying aunt whom he hasnt seen in 30 years (and partially blames for his maladjusted
childhood) to attend to her and her affairs in her last days. As a result of his Aunts letter, he
sweeps into Graces world and her decrepit little bedroom where she lies on her (supposed)
deathbed.
Days turn into weeks and months, and suddenly a year has gone by. Kemps attentiveness to
Grace increasingly turns to humourous if not macabre impatience as he waits for her to die. Over
the passing days, Grace listens with wary curiosity to the tales he recounts of his wretched and
lonely upbringing.
Carol Robinson-Todds physical acting brings the largely silent Grace to life exceptionally as
you read the apprehension in her glazed but haunted reactions. Her brilliantly readable facial
expressions and gestures are hard to miss and impossible to misread. Legge is perfectly deadpan
and inscrutable in his depiction of Kemp, a jaded and cynical man who has hobbled through life,
clearly broken and lonely.
Were all hobbling around, arent we? Missing bits and pieces of ourselves.
An odd bond forms between the two as time passes and Grace doesnt. Kemp brings the elderly
woman food, dusts her furniture, tends to the laundry and recounts neighbourhood tales to her as
he watches from the window day in and day out. His mockery and scorn of the elderly woman
sitting in the window across the street leads to a hilarious yet sad revelation, and turns the second
act on its head with an unexpected twist. And on that, I will say no more.
Vigil is beautifully twisted and dark in its humour, and incredibly well presented in its acting and
production. It is a refreshing change from the typical one-liner comedies that we often see
presented on stage. The audience is in for an intoxicating roller-coaster ride of emotions ranging
between horror, hilarity and heartbreak, and will exit the theatre with one touching and poignant
question in mind:
Why cant we all go at the same time? That way we dont have to watch each other die.