Bully

October 21 - November 1, 2003

If Carl Sagan and Cirque du Soleil got together, Bully would be their love child.

Bully is the story of Eugene-Michael Carter II - a boy who has become unglued by one traumatic event in his life. After an encounter with his personal bully, Carter is left to put the pieces of a fragmented world back together. In a desperate attempt to decipher truth from fantasy and theory, he draws on the help of an imaginary friend and builds a universe made of scientific ponderings, the theories of Stephen Hawking and his owns dreams of flight.

*Please note this production contains scenes that may be disturbing to sensitive patrons.

By Stephen Guy-McGrath and Steven Mayoff Directed by Alex Poch-Goldin
Sponsored by Claridge Community Newspapers Ltd.

Articles and Reviews

Bully Disturbing but Compelling

R. Reid -- The Kitchener-Waterloo Record
October 24, 2003

Whether it has become more prevalent or whether awareness has increased, bullying is a serious problem for youngsters from kindergarten through high school.

In her new book, devoted to the subject, The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander, parenting expert Barbara Coloroso defines bullying as "a conscious, willful and deliberate hostile activity intended to harm, induce fear, through the threat of further aggression and create terror."

This aspect of bullying is powerfully conveyed in Bully which opened Wednesday and continues through November 1st at Theatre Orangeville.

Co-written by Steven Mayoff and Stephen Guy-McGrath, who stars in this production, Bully offers a unique perspective on this cruel and painful social ill.

The production, which is more performance piece than play, takes us inside the head and world of Eugene Carter, a youngster who eventually breaks under the terrifying stress of being bullied by his former-friend-turned-tormentor Robert Glasgow. We follow Eugene's terror from the age of 10 through 12.

What makes the hour-long drama so compelling is the fascinating prism through which bullying is investigated. Guy-McGrath reveals Eugene's shattering interior and exterior worlds through the context of advanced phsyics as espoused by a range of theorists from Albert Einstein to Stephen Hawking, who makes a cameo appearance. Eugene's clashing worlds are equal parts reality and equal parts fantasy. Consequently, Guy-McGrath presents both interior and exterior through a circus metaphor of scaffolding and serial trapeze, from which he swings, spins, cartwheels and ultimately hangs.

Guy-McGrath is joined on stage by Shawn Campbell who plays multiple roles including Eugene's carping mother, stern teacher, unrelenting tormentor, imaginary friend and Hawking.

Directed by Alex Poch-Goldin, Bully is disturbing. However, it's necessary for society to look at this complex and troubling social problem straight in the eye.

Although most performances of Bully are being staged for school audiences followed by a topical discussion, a limited number are open to the public.

Theatregoers who want to see another side of Guy-McGrath can catch Spinning Yarns. Written and performed by the playwright/actor, the storytelling/musical/comedy/one man show recalls Guy-McGrath's Newfoundland childhood. Spinning Yarns is directed by Gillian Strange.