Book Title:  Omniscience (play)

Author:  Tim Carlson

Publishing Company:  Talonbooks (www.talonbooks.com)

Year:  2007

# of Pages: 95

ISBN #:  978-0-88922-562-6

$15.95 Canada

$15.95 USA 

3 ½ stars 

Reviewed By: Deborah Ground Buckner 

Tim Carlson's play, Omniscience had its world premiere at Performance Works in Vancouver on May 27, 2004, in a Western Theatre Conspiracy production.  Carlson is a co-founder and co-artistic director for the company.  An arts writer, journalist and editor, he has worked for the Vancouver Sun and Halifax Daily News. 

Omniscience is a frightening story of a time of war and governmental surveillance, where privacy is eroding and media-speak spins webs of falsehood—a time not too unlike the present.  Reminiscent of George Orwell's 1984 and Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Omniscience takes the reader down the dangerous path of loss of solitude and bombardment of propaganda. 

Four characters tell the story:  Warren, a journalist working on a documentary and finding evidence that doesn't match the scenarios his television station, Channel One, has been reporting; Anna, Warren's wife, a soldier who is haunted by post-traumatic stress after an incident of friendly fire which she is not allowed to talk about; Beth, Director of Wellness for Channel One; and George, an intelligence operative investigating Warren.  A fifth character, Paul, appears only on film as Warren edits the documentary.  Paul may have been murdered, or he may have defected to a region beyond the government's control.  The mystery of Paul's disappearance and the remainder of his work is a central feature of the play. 

The characters are well-defined, particularly Anna, who spends her days craving to be left alone, drowning in alcohol and every pill she can find.  George, ready to build a case against Warren with only the most circumstantial of evidence, is a frightening “Big Brother” figure.  Warren, like Orwell's Winston, is caught up in the struggle of determining what is real and what isn't, of finding a place to exist without the constant threat of every move being watched.  His attempt to maintain a relationship with the troubled Anna is particularly poignant. 

Carlson has told his story well, and whether the play is read or viewed, it will create a few chills and provide much to ponder.