At The Toronto Centre for the Arts (former Ford Centre) Studio Theatre. 5040 Yonge Street, Toronto

  The North York Mirror

Friday, November 11, 2011

Intrigue and espionage take centre stage with 'Deceived'

Arts & Entertainment

FRONT ROW CENTRE

MARK ANDREW LAWRENCE

Earlier this year, Teatron brought us the Canadian premiere of Motti Lerner's play Hard Love. Now they continue their exploration of his output with the play Deceived.

            First seen in Tel-Aviv in 1995, the play is receiving its North American premiere at the Toronto Centre for the Arts in a powerfully provocative production directed by Ari Weisberg. With the author in attendance, the opening night performance was well received with many staying afterwards for a passionate discussion about the play.

  Deceived is based on the true story of Jonathan Jay Pollard. In1987, Pollard was sentenced to life in prison following a lengthy investigation in which he was found guilty of spying for Israel while working for the U.S. government's Naval Investigative Services.

            During his tenure there, he passed thousands of classified documents to Israel. His case has attracted world media attention, and his followers maintain his sentence was excessive.

            Lerner tells Pollard's story in flashback from a sympathetic perspective of the present, even offering a sly joke in the form of a character, Sam Goldstein, played with a nice balance of impish charm and earnest seriousness by Irving Dobbs. Sam occasionally acts as a narrator, connecting us to Pollard's world and reminding us that we are watching a play. Frankly, the reminder is needed. The characters are so vivid and the production is so well-performed that we occasionally need a respite from the onstage anxiety.

            Ron Boyd plays Pollard almost as an innocent dupe. Oh, he knows what he is doing right from the start, but as written and played, Boyd offers a portrait of Pollard that presents him as a passionate political ideologist who gets swept into this situation. Boyd allows us to understand how the circumstances developed, offering a mesmerizing performance that fleshes out many details of the state of affairs. He is given tremendous support by Erika Brodzky as his stressed wife, Ann.

            Bob Legare makes the role of Jerry Aije an imposing figure, and Kunal Jaggi brings spark and vigor to the stage whenever he appears.

            Sam Wertrnan gives a polarizing portrayal of agent Rafi Eitan, a spineless manipulator who promises to help Pollard, but reneges when the crucial moment arrives.

            This is a powerful piece and will leave you with a lot to consider long after the play has ended. Deceived is on stage in the Studio theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts until Nov. 20. Call the box office at 416-781-5527 or visit www.teatrontheatre.com

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