In star and producer Armando Babaioff‘s vision of this play originally written by French Canadian Michel Marc Bouchard in 2011, which was subsequently a 2013 directed by Xavier Dolan, it’s a very different world to city life Tom finds himself in.
You see, Tom’s (Babaioff) boyfriend Guillaume died in a car crash so Tom takes a journey to meet his late boyfriend’s mother (excellently played by Denise Del Vecchio) and brother Francis (Iano Salomão). The mother did not know Guillaume was gay, while his brother Francis could not accept it and in the past had always resorted to physical violence to sweep it under the rug. He does the same to Tom; telling him what to say to his mom, what not to say, how to act, and if Tom doesn’t obey him, Francis says he will be thrown into the ditch, along with the cattle body parts. Violent and bloody scenes take place between Francis and Tom and the farm animals (invisible) and Tom becomes acclimated to being at the farm while the mother wants to meet Guillaume’s alleged girlfriend. This all takes place in two hour play (in Portuguese with English subtitles) in a production that features a lot of psychological violence, lots of fighting, blood, hyper-masculinity, and one poor victim – the mother – who is oblivious to it all.
Tom at the Farm is hardcore visceral theatre, and may not be for everyone. The majority of the audience on the night I saw it was gay men – but the performances are electric and worth the watch. Babaioff commands the stage as Tom while Del Vecchio is simple (and perfect) as the mother.
This is a piece of theatre that is gripping yet brutal, in your face yet not quite fun, but it is unforgettable.