The Sanity Clause

Pegasus Theatre

When the holiday season sets in and captures the hearts of the masses, an air of childhood innocence seems to come along with it. The Oxford Youth Theatre's production of "The Sanity Clause" seems to capture the essence of this innocence, with onstage antics that make it impossible for the audience to blink for an instant.

"The Sanity Clause" uses The Pied Piper of Hamelin story as its blueprint, but the final production strays far from this classic tale. Hamelin is portrayed as the picture perfect town, with inhabitants who aren't exactly perfect themselves, but believe firmly that they live in the ideal society. Mary Savirgin receives a call while in a cappuccino shop, informing her that she is to give birth to a baby that night. Alarmed that she in no way enjoyed the practical premise of such a result, she is surrounded by the townspeople, eager to pay their respects to the newborn. Three wise men travel to present gifts to the baby, one ends up giving a flute. The baby, still unnamed at this point, picks up the flute and begins to play it. To their amazement, the music puts the townspeople in a trance. They immediately label the baby as a freak, and Mary is forced to cast him away to the forest, where a bear and a monkey befriend him.

Later, the perfect town is infested with rats and they are in need of a solution. The once cast away baby is now eighteen and ready for the challenge. His homecoming presents humorous results and a side plot love story that rounds the production out, touching all possible emotions.

As a whole, the production is nothing short of impressive. The Oxford Youth Theatre troupe are a talented group of performers, and, as their leaflet reveals, they not only act out the script onstage, but also helped develop it, which was evident from the innocent and youthful wit on display. The actors would turn to the audience for participation; they would also play with the fact that they were onstage. They would recognize props as plastic instead of their intended purpose, in order to create a more original and laid back production.

The cast played multiple roles and scene changes did not allow much time, yet all the performers got into character, costume and all, in a matter of seconds. All of the performers were animated and inspiring, their enjoyment onstage spreading to the audience.

"The Sanity Clause" is in no way a glitz and glamour production, but it didn't need to be. Its weaving in and out of different fairy tales presented the perfect pantomime, to be enjoyed and understood by all ages. Audience members are in store for an interactive performance, one that puts a smile on all faces and brings us into the spirit of Christmas.

Rachael Liberman 11/12/01