‘Big Ticket’ Brings Laughs and Refuses to Tow the Line
After having her car towed for the fifth time, Annie (Susan Del Mei) decides not only to get her car back, but to personally change the system and avoid future incidents. Caught in Annie’s crusade is gauche tow truck driver, David (Reece Presley), who is just doing his job, which he describes as fulfilling “…penalties for citizen misconduct.”
Theatre Kingston presents Jim Garrard’s Big Ticket in the Baby Grand as the company’s first show of 2025. Arriving at the theatre, I was eased into the world of the play from the ratchet straps pinned to the cast board in the lobby, the fencing attached to the sides of the seating risers, and finally by Rosemary Doyle’s set design of Dave’s Towing, where the play takes place. Doyle uses the existing back wall and exit of the theatre in her design, building the space out with small additions like a washroom for characters to exit into, or some walls bearing windows to connect the action of the room to the outside world. These windows are utilized by Will Smith Blyth’s subtle but effective lighting design which portray events happening outside of the shop with gentle light emanating from the windows.
Despite there only ever being two characters on stage, the ensemble is inflated significantly by the cast of numerous voice actors (Dylan Chenier, Grant Bobbie, Seymour Irons, Abhishek Singh, Ciara Roberts, and others) who are featured as offstage personalities incorporated into Richard Feren’s sound design. As the chaos of the story unfolds, there are times where many noises occur in the background of the scene, but they never become bothersome or overwhelming. The icing on the environmental cake is when a fire breaks out in the action of the play, the faint scent of burning incense wafts into the space from offstage. It’s not strong enough to cause any adverse reactions, and I may have missed it if I had not noticed the sparks flying from the lighter out of the corner of my eye. The production is stuffed to the brim with these small contributions that really can only be experienced in live theatre.
Del Mei’s Annie is erratic and regularly dives into asides in which she addresses the audience to explain her jumbled thoughts. These moments are slightly over-utilized, but Del Mei brings a delightful chaos to the role that kept me engaged each time she stepped out of the action to justify herself. Throughout the play, Annie and Dave seem to weave between flirting and bickering at the drop of a hat, which is entertaining at first, but the inconsistent chemistry becomes somewhat tiresome. However, these slower moments are quickly alleviated by the physical humour of Presley’s Dave, whose excessive gags had the entire audience roaring with laughter.
Garrard’s script is filled with dry humour and chaotic exclamations and there is something refreshing about the script not attempting to make some profound statement. All that was required of me as an audience member was a willingness to go along with the chaos and have a good time. Big Ticket falls in the middle of Theatre Kingston’s 24/25 season, and a lighthearted night at the theatre is a welcome interruption to the melancholy winter months.
Jim Garrard’s ‘Big Ticket’ is a Theatre Kingston world premiere, directed by Rosemary Doyle and playing at the Baby Grand until February 23, 2025. Tickets and more information can be found here.
This review has been co-produced with the Kingston-Whig Standard.
