The Master Plan - Theatre Review

Photo by Dahlia katz

By: Angela Guardiani

There’s a particular kind of joy that comes from a Wikipedia or TedTalk rabbit hole. Social media like TikTok feels more passive, with a single swipe bringing us an endless carousel of amusement. But when a question sparks your curiosity, like “Why did Target fail so catastrophically in Canada?”, you become a scholar, digging through piles and piles of information, sifting, parsing, learning. It’s the same drive that leads many of us to podcasts and documentaries on history or science. Calling it “edutainment” feels a bit reductive, but a true story can be fascinating.

The revival of The Master Plan, a Crow’s Theatre/Soulpepper joint production, is a testament to this. It is a true story, an ongoing story, and it’s a story about us, about Toronto. It is heartbreaking and hilarious. And it’s all about land use planning. But I promise you that it’s absolutely fascinating.

The Master Plan is about Waterfront Toronto and their efforts to do something bold and meaningful with an ugly block of land right at the shore of Lake Ontario, the deal they made with Sidewalk Labs (a subsidiary of Google) to create the city of the future there, the idealism of the people who understood it and the fear of those who didn’t. It is an epic tale with twists and turns, whimsey and humour. Our heroes make mistakes and the worst person you know drops some profound and uncomfortable truths. It’s not just about bureaucracy or technology or capitalism. It’s about humanity and our very human reactions to solving problems.

The plot is labyrinthine but mostly ping-pongs between the offices of Waterfront Toronto and various government spaces. An ensemble cast plays many roles (and plays them nimbly), but the characters that are more or less constant are well-meaning pragmatists Meg Davis (Philippa Domville) and Kristina Verner (Rose Napoli), idealist Cam Malagaam (Christopher Allen), and tech impresario/possible egomaniac Dan Doctoroff (Mike Shara). The characters pile up, the facts come thick and fast, complicated backstories and context unspool with the aid of screens integrated into the set, and it’s all done with such crispness and economy that it never feels like just exposition.

By the time intermission rolled around, I had to physically restrain myself from checking Wikipedia to see how everything played out. I’m glad I did. The payoff was emotional, and the last image of the play - a live shot of an empty concrete lot - left me overcome with feeling.

For me, the most beautiful thing about The Master Plan is the contrast between how sharply it’s written and how tenderly it’s performed. The satire is biting without being cynical. It acknowledges the idealism and hope that’s needed to bring change and balances it with the realities and practicalities of everyday. I can’t think of a better example of this razor’s edge balance than a scene late in the play where Meg Davis gives an impassioned defence of the importance of mistakes in the journey to growth and the need to be bold when breaking away from the status quo to save the planet. Kristina Verner listens, a tear sliding down her face. Then, when asked for a follow-up, she says, “Meg Davis is the tits.” Eloquence and bluntness, tears and laughter, capitalism and altruism. Who says local politics are boring?

The Master Plan plays until December 29, 2024 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts (50 Tank House Lane). For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: Soulpepper Theatre - Plays, Concerts & Musicals