Toronto -- Directed by Alisa Palmer
Written and performed by Diane Flacks and Richard Greenblatt
At Toronto's Tarragon Theatre
Rating: ****

The premise of Sibs is simple. In this new show that opened at the Tarragon Theatre Tuesday, Diane Flacks and Richard Greenblatt play a bereaved sister and brother discussing the settlement of their father's estate. From this adult moment, they soon depart for childhood, charting the history of their characters' bond and, by extension, of all sibling relationships in a fast and physical 80-minutes that soon brings them back to the scene where they began. Like Greenblatt's previous show, the ever popular Two Pianos, Four Hands, Sibs observes human foibles briefly but honestly.

This unnamed brother and sister are Jewish and have just finished sitting shivah, observing the traditional week-long mourning period. Now, it's time to talk about probate and selling the house, but sister, a lesbian filmmaker, announces she is leaving the next day to return to her home in another city, leaving her sibling to deal with the practical stuff. Seems that's just typical of the self-centred princess and her put-upon baby brother, who then revert to cooing babes, bickering toddlers, raucous teens and righteous youths, tracking the siblings' evolution from perpetual playmates and rivals to virtual strangers meeting annually at Passover. The point is obvious but no less true for that: When it comes to siblings, the childhood pattern is set for life. This pair may grow apart but they cannot break the mold.

The actors, who have worked together previously on such pieces as the collectively created Theory of Relatives and Flacks' solo shows By a Thread and Gravity Calling, have built Sibs both from scripted material and from physical improvisations. Composer Rick Sacks adds a percussive score that he performs himself on stage, successfully setting tone and pace through music. The effect is seamless, well crafted and perfectly measured: Director Alisa Palmer has melded the elements together to create a show that delivers its particular kind of theatrical shorthand at a joyful gallop. The subtly funny Flacks makes it all look easy, and Greenblatt was literally sweating to keep up with her at Tuesday's opening -- appropriately enough since he plays the younger sibling.

The actors bounce off each other's comic personalities and feed on each other's energy, but it is harder to make room for deeper drama in the quick and clever place they have created. The final explosion between the two adult siblings is the one disappointment here, its darker sentiments not quite slow, nor fine enough, to seem as plausible as the comedy. Greenblatt and Flacks retrieve the show with a delicate conclusion, and leave you with the enjoyable impression of a small work that is tidy but true.

Until April 16 at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto; 416-531-1827