The Citizen, 1995-07-26, Page 23Ready to wear
From left: Trish O'Reilly as Sheila, Jacklyn Francis
prepare the bride for her big day in the hopes that
scene from Norah Harding's This Year, Next Year,
past week.
Theatre review
Play should capture hearts
as Norah, Barbara Worthy as Maggie
the groom will appear on time, in this
which premiered at Blyth Festival this
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August 5
For ticket information
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Buck & Doe
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Bruce Siertsema
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on
Saturday, July 29
9 p.m. -1 a.m.
Auburn Hall
Age of Majority
THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, JULY 26, 1995. PAGE 23.
E ntertainment
The view from here
By Bonnie Gropp
This Year, Next Year, which pre-
miered at Blyth Festival this past
week is a real story about real peo-
ple, who lived the adventure of
World War II with spirit and tenac-
ity.
Written by Norah Harding this
tale of three sisters, who loved and
lost, is based on her life in
Bournemouth, Eng. in 1944.
Its realism begins with the set,
designed by Victoria Wallace, a
welcoming room that beckons the
audience to become involved in the
emotions and feelings of family
during this turbulent, romantic
time.
The story centres around Norah,
played by Jacklyn Francis, who has
met and fallen in love with a young
Canadian soldier. After announcing
to her sisters, Ivy (Deborah Drake-
ford) and Sheila (Trish O'Reilly)
that Ben has proposed, she must
convince her mother, Maggie (Bar-
bara Worthy) to sign the permis-
Jake's Place, the third production
in the Blyth Festival's season of
Canadian plays, has its world
premiere on Wednesday, July 26 at
8:30 p.m. in the Blyth Memorial
Community Hall. Written by
veteran Blyth writer, Ted Johns
(Garrison's Garage, The School
Show, He Won't Come In From The
Barn), Jake's Place is about Jake
Palmer, a marginal man who gets
caught in a battle over building his
driveway.
The play focuses on Jake's play
in society and whether local, or for
that matter, any government, has
the right to target individuals as the
object of their wrath. As he suffers
from "Grasshopper Brain" (an
Buck & Doe
for
Mark Verburg
& Dianne Dykman
on Friday, July 28, 1995
at
Blyth Community Centre
Music by Sound Proof
(9 to 1)
Age of Majority Required
sion paper, as she is not yet of legal
age. What follows is an enlighten-
ing story of how love overcomes
apprehension, parental concern and
bureaucracy. Throughout it is
spiced with big band swing and the
sound and voices of war.
The cast does a good job of get-
ting into the roles, though the only
one who capably maintains an
unaffected, consistent English
accent is Worthy, whose heritage is
English. Both Francis and Drake-
ford give solid performances, but it
is O'Reilly, as the free-spirited
youngest, who has the most fun
with her role.
Stealing every scene she's in was
Tedde Moore, granddaughter of
renowned actress and teacher, Dora
Mayor Moore, who plays verbose
Aunt Girlie. Veteran actor Harry
Booker, whose solid, but bland
Uncle Harry gets upstaged until the
second act when he finally gets a
word in to silence the flighty Girlie.
Not every moment of real life is
inability to make decisions), and
"Lot's Wife Syndrome" (fear of the
future), Jake is particularly
susceptible to New Age Medicine
and the machinations of his new
neighbour, Deirdre Munsinger.
Jake's Place features Michael
Healey as 'Jake Palmer', Randi
Helmers as 'Marian Palmer' (Jake's
daughter), Anne Anglin as 'Deirdre
Munsinger', Ted Atherton as 'the
visiting lawyer', Eric Coats as
'Reeve George Ranford', and Jerry
exciting and throughout the first act
I experienced a perpetual state of
anticipation. Directed by Terry
Tweed, the first act was a little
slow, as we became acquainted
with the characters, their personali-
ties and their histories. I kept wait-
ing for something to happen.
In the second act, however,
things were moving more swiftly
and by its end, you were left with
the feeling of having spent time
with a delightful family.
This Year, Next Year, is a simple
story with no pretension, no gim-
micks. It inspires our admiration
for the people who continued to
live in a time when it would have
been easier to hide from life. You
are awed by their strengths and
sympathetic to their weaknesses.
This Year should fmd its place in
the heart of Blyth audiences for the
bittersweet memories it stirs and
the emotions it shares. It was gen-
erous of Harding to share this inti-
mate part of her life.
Franken as 'Councillor Bert
McGee'.
Jake's Place is directed by Miles
Potter, with set and costumes by
Glenn Davidson, and lighting
design by Leslie Wilkinson.
Opening on Wednesday, July 26
and running until Aug. 28, tickets
for Jake's Place are available by
calling the Blyth Festival Box
Office at (519) 523-9300. Blyth
Festival's 1995 Season Supporter is
du Maurier Arts Ltd.
Dad:
I ended last week's letter just before I got onstage.
We all stand around backstage and try to guess the
size and composition of the audience out front. Is it
50 blue-haired matrons? Is it 500 Shriners?
The fact that we're all desperate to know tells you
something about the event of theatre: the audience is
like the other person in a conversation. And we all
want to know who that other person is, what they're
like, before we start to talk to them.
When the audience has settled and the lights go down, I can tell you
there is as much anticipation backstage as there is out front. We all want
to see what's going to happen. We know the moves, we know what to say,
but inside that structure there are a lot of variables.
Memories can fail, inspiration can suddenly strike, an audience can
react to something no other audience cared about. It gets made up every
time. The same way that for you there was infinite variation and risk in
choosing the shoes that would go into the stores, year after year. Your
moves were the same, but you never knew exactly what their effect might
be.
It's quite bright when you walk out onstage, and the fact that the
backstage area is dark makes it seem that much brighter. Imagine coming
from the darkness into the stark light, into a big room full of people full of
whom are looking at you. It's like being born. No wonder everyone says
actors are like children.
For us it's sit in the dark backstage, run around in the light, change your
clothes in the dark, run around in the light, wait as patiently as possible for
intermission to end, and repeat. It might not seem it, but two hours is a
long time for a group of people to concentrate so intensely. It's exhausting
and exhilarating at the same time. It's why we all end up in the Rubber
Boot after the show, and why very few of us have the energy to even play
pool once we get there.
That's what it's like for me. See you when I get back to town.
Yours,
Michael.
Michael Healey is a member of the Blyth Festival Company. His tongue-
in-cheek letters home will be featured weekly throughout the season.
Fri.-Thur.
July 28-Aug. 03
Fri. -Tues. 6:45 & 9:15 PM
Wed.-Thur. 8 PM
LONG DISTANCE? CALL 1-800-2651438 FOR TOLL FREE MOVIE INFO
Johns brings Jake to Blyth
DANCE
Saturday, August 5/95
"GLIDER,/ (Blyth Arena)
Blyth Co-ed Slo-Pitch Tourney
Tickets $5.00 ea. Now On Sale!
For more information call
523-4551 or 482-9482
Come out and have some Fun!
Fri. & Sun. Nights - Music by Soundproof
(Calvin Kerr)
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