“Blind Dates” Charms and Floats in Shallow Waters at Theatre Passe Muraille, Toronto – front mezz junkies, Theater News

The Toronto Theatre Review: Vivian Chong’s Blind Dates

By Ross

There’s a strong and engaging “I’m here” energy emanating from the Theatre Passe Muraille Backspace stage, brought forth in abundance by the optimistic connecting persona of Blind Dates‘ central character. Written and performed in loving formulation by Vivian Chong (Music Picnic/TPM’s The Year of the Cello), the solidly presented one-person show framing is quickly and cleverly unwrapped from the get-go. These Blind Dates, the ones that we will walk alongside Chong during this 65-minute show, have a unique personal layering that unfolds and expands the space effortlessly. Chong is literally blind, and these dates that she is going to guide us through are her complex reality in a society that leans heavily on the visual. But that’s not going to get in the way of this strong-willed gal.

Without the ability to swipe right or left (which, it turns out, might be a great thing in terms of connection and engagement), Chong walks us cleverly through a series of romantic meetings and dates that float generously out from her clearminded presence. She’s quite the engaging character, in the sweetest and most honest of ways, talking openly about attraction, connection, and rejection, by others and by herself. With a variety of reactionary constructs to interactions and complications, the adventures that take place as she volunteers at a youth summer camp for the blind all the way to Lake Ontario kayaking and paddle boarding draw us in and exemplify her brave and optimistic energy. We are there with her, for the whole journey, and we can’t help but cheer her on from beginning to end.

In this Theatre Passe Muraille production, the men she encounters vary in degrees in how well they communicate, explore, collect, and engage, interspersed with some sweetly performed in-between songs written by Chong to give further insight into her happy intersectional place. “Dates in life are reflective,” more than the mirrors in her room, revealing difficulties, obstacles, and pleasures that come up as she attempts to find love and companionship. The stories have fascinating details within, filling us with engaged hope. Yet, overall, a stronger directorial presence by director, dramaturg and TPM artistic director Marjorie Chan 陳以珏 (Studio 180/fu-GEN Asian Canadian’s The Chinese Lady) with some focused script guidance are needed to develop the narrative arcs within each hilly date tale, and, almost more importantly, a stronger overall backbone meaning to wrap the whole thing up in a thoughtful bow.

On a well-crafted set by Echo Zhou 周芷會 (Studio 180’s My Sister’s Rage), with a solid sound design by Gloria Mok 莫嘉詠 (Theatre ARTaud’s 49th Day) and lighting design by Steph Raposo (Erroneous/TPN’s No One’s Special at the Hot Dog Cart), Blind Dates keeps us centered on the space around a green textured bench surrounded by varying surfaces that both help guide us through the stories and, I’m guessing, help her navigate her way around most dynamically. It’s a compelling list of men and dates, playfully delivered in unique framings, spots, and with a variety of very well-formulated voices that compel the unpacking forward with ease. But as a whole, these Blind Dates left me a little detached.

Many stories seem to fall off the edge of the pier and float away without us really getting a sense of the ending or the meaning of each. A few are wrapped up in overly simplified dockings, while others are just dropped like a stone into the lake, leaving us wondering and surprised by their abandonment. Chong is a captivatingly endearing performer, recalling the wackiness of plastic foot bags and cabin fever romances, but her stories need emotionally enveloping framings, endings, and conclusions for us to really be emotionally pulled in. Like what happened after that disturbing Italian beach interaction? It was the most captivating moment when something truly startling happened, but how it wrapped up, we were all left floating in the sea, wondering.

All of the Blind Dates performances, I am told, are blind-friendly, with lots of visual descriptions of the set and the performer presented to us to make it all more inclusive and accessible. There are AI-generated captions that float above on a white cloud, that are shockingly not a reliable service in regards to accuracy. The AI service, unfortunately, does a pretty terrible job, altering words and sentences in bizarre ways, which makes the whole thing more confusing and alienating rather than accessible, which is a complete shame and a distraction to what is being attempted here.

As is, Blind Dates is a charming talk about the complications, difficulties, and dynamic experiences that Chong flings herself in courageously and with an utter belief in herself and her worth around dating and connecting. A framing that is both refreshing and liberating, but as a piece of theatre, the script and the songs, albeit tenderly performed, lack a sense of true completion and an emotional overarcing current that can pull us safely through to the island’s end. Some work needs to be done to make the whole thing more powerful, but the seeds of truth are there, just waiting to be navigated and developed.