The Ensemble Theatre is in a festive mood this year as it celebrates its 50th year. I went to see Justin Fleming’s ‘Burnt Piano’ and this was very much an in the Ensemble family production, celebrating the talent that has come through the theatres’ doors.

Long time Ensemble Artistic Director Sandra Bates directed ‘Burnt Piano’ and started her career at the Ensemble acting studio. The playwright and all four adult actors are graduates of the studio. The young boy was played by one of Sandra Bates’ grandsons.

In ‘Burnt Piano’ Dee Smart plays the main character Karen Idlewild who believes that she was born under the sign of ‘Waiting for Godot’. Moving with her son, Jonah (Nick Virgona) and father, Peter (Michael Ross), to Paris, she hopes to meet Samuel Beckett (Don Reid), the man she believes will give some meaning to a family tragedy. Suzanne, Beckett’s wife (Zika Nester), is determined to protect her husband’s privacy. Meanwhile, Karen’s father thinks Karen should pay more attention to her son.

‘Burnt Piano’ was engaging theatre without reaching great heights. My focus was held watching Karen’s journey as she sought solace for her suffering in Beckett’s esoteric view of the world. There was interest also in the cut and thrust of the debates between father and daughter of the comparative merits of literary versus mainstream writing.

Performances were strong. Dee Smart gave an intense performance in the lead role. Michael Ross’s Peter was argumentative and stolid. Don Reid’s Beckett was an intense, down to earth man, and ironically, the least likely character to give Karen a mantra to live by. Zika Nester’s Suzanne was a loving and protective of the great man, and Nester tinkled away at the piano, at times, during the performance.

Brian Nickless’s designed an impressive, two tiered set with Karen’s apartment on the ground level, and Samuel Beckett’s apartment on the upper level. Martin Kinnane lit the stage.