Review: IN THIS HOUSE  Is An Honest Take On Millennials And Mental Health

Talk Like You Theatre's IN THIS HOUSE, premiering at the Rendezvous With Madness Festival, explores the lives of four 20-something roommates living downtown. The house is old and owned by the introverted Minka (Ciana Henderson), who received it from her grandparents, but the cost of living leads her to find a few roommates to fill the place.

Enter Charlie (Jonathan Sconza), the story's anxious narrator; Remi (Rosie Callaghan), an aspiring musician who works at a bar; and Jinx (Astrid Atherly), a psychology PhD candidate-slash-burlesque dancer. As the four learn to live with and love one another, they're also confronted by harsh realities: mental illness, suicide, and illness lurk in the corners of every conversation until given the chance to burst forth.

Playwright and director Grace Thompson has managed to nail the dialogue of wayward millennials. With moments leaning heavily into the philosophical to Jinx's random nonsensical outbursts-which might only be funny to young adults since they stem from the goofy sense of humour many of us have -the characters are relatable because they're honest. While some of the dialogue can be longwinded, especially coming from Remi, whose depression has impaired most of her life it's kept lively by sincere performances.

Sconza is an endearing Charlie with great attention to the tiny details of the character. A nervous tic signals anxiety, a too-loud laugh hints at social awkwardness, and Sconza does well to slowly build and build on the character to bring his arc to a heart wrenching peak. His solid chemistry with the rest of the cast makes for a range of interesting relationships to develop. Callaghan's Remi is manic, loud, and honest, and she takes advantage of lengthy monologues and serious subject matter to hold audiences at attention.

As Remi's former choir friend, Atherly's Jinx is a breath of fresh (funny) air in this production. The tiny cube rooms (set and lighting design by Lisa Van Oorschot) light up when Atherly enters, Jinx's confidence is infectious; everything about them, from the name they chose to their exciting clothes, signal that this is someone who knows themselves-and Atherly owns this part of the character. Henderson's Minka is the perfect balance to Jinx's energy, Remi's manic behaviour, and Charlie's anxiety. She shuffles from scene to scene in a bathrobe and comically large paw-shaped slippers but provides necessary grounding in high-stakes scenes.

The insertion of music throughout the play was a necessary element, as it shows how young people connect to and express themselves through music more than anything. It certainly doesn't hurt that this cast were all more than capable of pulling of the accompaniment while in character; special recognition to both Callaghan and Atherly, whose rich voices were a perfect compliment to each other as they bounced around the church-turned-theatre space's high ceilings.

IN THIS HOUSE is a story for millennials by millennial creatives. It doesn't shy away from difficult conversations and unveils a few ideals that most of us feel, even if we don't have the words to express them ourselves. This is a story that handles a generation's aspirations of happiness and hope in a way that brings a doom-and-gloom mentality into the light and leaves it there, not promising happiness as a tangible thing but as a part of life that comes and goes-and shows that it should be treasured in whatever form it takes.

---

Talk Like You Theatre's IN THIS HOUSE closes October 20 at Workman Arts, 651 Dufferin St, Toronto, ON.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit https://buy.workmanarts.com/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent4.html

Photo credit: Henry Chan Jr.