By Emily R. Zarevich, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Petty bickering. Childhood reminiscing. “I read in an article that…,” “The pasta’s delicious, Mom!” Awkward silences. Forks and knives scraping. Sound familiar? It’s every family dinner where you talk about everything except what actually needs to be talked about. This is Kico Gonzalez-Risso’s Timepiece, currently being performed at Theatre Burlington on New Street.
The play opened on Friday, February 7, 2025, just in time for Valentine’s Day, the core relationship-centred holiday. Directed by Maureen Dwyer and produced by Mark Collis, Timepiece is the story of a four-person nuclear family entering the final stage of their journey. The parents, Walter and Doris, are a snippy elderly couple retired in the family home they’ve loved and maintained for decades. The adult children, Patrick and Karla, are grown up and on their own with established careers and grand ambitions. They all share a homecooked meal in the house where they were once together as a unit, and here the clock on the wall times a race. What’s going to disappear first? The couple’s lifestyle as they know it, or the mind of Walter, to increasingly incapacitating Alzheimer’s disease?
Kico Gonzalez-Risso’s prose is sharp, quick, and leaves a lasting impression, like the sting of a mosquito. This play evokes intense anxiety and makes you uncomfortable in your seat, which is to be expected with such serious and familiar subject matter. The high, consistent tension between the stubborn, ineffective father/clockmaker and the frustrated adult son/lawyer will raise your blood pressure. It’s a battle for control that stretches the full length of the play. You don’t know whether to side with Walter or Patrick at times. All you do know is that you want these issues resolved already!
Timepiece features solid performances all around. It’s a strong quartet with the chemistry of a real dysfunctional family. Janine Heaven shines as the empathetic but worn-out housewife Doris. She brings to the role a warm and relatable humanity and makes a believable homemaker who only wants the best for everyone under her care. Tyler Brent as Patrick looks ready to burst a blood vessel at all times, which perfectly suits the character of a lawyer who wins in court but is losing at home. Christine Marchetti effectively embodies her character Karla’s immaturity and brings to the family dynamic a boastful but pitiful woman-child still desperate for Mom and Dad’s praise. And Tim Denis is delightfully infuriating at the bullheaded and avoidant Walter, who makes an art form out of being self-absorbed, a case covering for a hidden heart of gold.
The set crew put together two simple sets with sage-green wall paint and minimal household goods (save Walter’s collection of clocks): the backyard in Act One and the kitchen in Act Two. Both sets are suitable in that they have muted colours and don’t distract the audience in any way from the goings-on of the four characters. The sets really feel like home spaces and the actors use them effectively, storming off when they’re upset or when they want a helping of dessert. Claiming spots in the house you know they claimed when they were all living together.
Theatre Burlington has partnered with the Alzheimer Society of Ontario to help raise awareness about the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and the effect it has on families as the disease progresses. If you are interested in making a donation to the Society, please click here.
Timepiece will have showings on Feb. 14 through to Feb. 16, and Feb. 21 and 22 at Theatre Burlington. There is still time to purchase a ticket here. The clock is ticking!
