Life sucks—at least some of the time. But Outliers Theatre Collective’s take on Aaron Posner’s play of this name reminds us that even in the bleakest moments, there is room for humour, hope, and connection.
Life Sucks. is an invigorating choice for an inaugural production: one that lives up to the company’s mandate to revive underappreciated works that defy easy categorization. Posner’s irreverent, profanity-laced reimagining of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya maintains the emotional heart of the Russian classic, while shifting it into the 21st century with a combination of knowing humour, blistering monologues, and fourth-wall-breaking audience engagement. Under Tom McHale’s spry direction, this Toronto staging finds both laughter and lamentation in the mess of everyday modern life.
Set in an intimate space at the Small World Centre (inside Artscape Youngplace), the production benefits from a deliberately cosy, lived-in design that heightens the emotional proximity between the actors and the audience. The resulting production feels immediate and uncomfortable, like we are peeping through the window. McHale and his team, including intimacy and fight choreographer Jack Davidson, create an environment where heartbreak, resentment, and yearning simmer just beneath the surface of every interaction.
And those interactions are the aggregation of strong acting performances. Hayden Finkelshtain delivers a sharply drawn Vanya: prickly, self-loathing and perpetually wounded, he teeters between comic futility and tragic inertia. Hilary Adams leans into Ella as someone who knows she is both adored and resented: she ably embodies the contradiction of a woman who is weary of being watched, yet enjoys the attention. And Kiana Woo’s Sonia is affecting, unguarded and yearning, offering a portrait of vulnerable loveliness in a world that refuses to see it.
Meanwhile, Sean Jacklin’s hard-drinking Dr Aster – world-weary yet idealistic – provides a suitable counterpoint to the neurotic Vanya, while Scott McCulloch shamelessly mines his role as the pompous Professor for its full comedic entitlement. Lisa Norton’s Babs is a steady, wry presence, and her monologue about gratitude in the second act yields quiet a-has about averting despair by consciously viewing the glass as half-full. And Jada Rifkin brings quirky warmth to the role of Pickles, whose optimism puts up gentle resistance to the bleakness around her.
The production makes sharp use of Posner’s meta-theatrical framing, with scene titles projected onstage and moments of direct address that invite the audience not merely to observe, but to reflect. Scenes like those titled “Three Things I Love” and “Grey Nose Hairs” careen between the funny and the devastating, while drawing out the contradictions of aging, desire, and disappointment.
By the time the ensemble stages a group intervention for Vanya in the scene “What, Am I Supposed to Feel Sorry For You?”, the play has made its central argument clear: suffering may be universal, but it need not be isolating. A raised middle finger delivered with a smile may be Posner and McHale’s true act of defiance: a laughter-laced lesson that – in a world where too often, life truly sucks – connection and compassion can offer a way through.
With this layered and darkly funny debut, Outliers Theatre Collective positions itself as a company to watch that is committed to intelligent, emotionally honest theatre.
© Arpita Ghosal, Sesaya Arts Magazine 2025
