Love is in the air and on the stage.
Shuswap Theatre presents two one-act plays – both deal with love but on very different levels.
First up is the powerful Jewel, written by Joan MacLeod and directed by Elizabeth Ann Skelhorne.
The one-woman show stars Kaitlin Hunter and is based on a real-life catastrophe – the sinking of the Ocean Ranger oil rig off the coast of Newfoundland on Valentine’s Day, 1982.
Three years later, widow Marjorie Clifford, at home in her trailer in Fort St. John, begins to take the first step in understanding that the humanity of love, in all of its tentative frailty, uncertainty and promise, can free a life paralyzed and dominated by loss.
“It’s a history of her love, love she shared with her husband and losing him on him on Valentine’s Day,” says Skelhorne, noting all 84 men on the rig died and the tragedy was magnified by the fact not one of them had been trained in safety procedures, there were no survival suits and a warning the previous week was ignored.
The event became the catalyst to improve conditions on the rigs, says Skelhorne, noting the tragedy struck far from the Maritimes as some 20 of the men were from Newfoundland, 10 from the U.S. and the rest from across Canada.
Skelhorne has combined her anger at the oil industry “that kills in so many ways” with her appreciation for MacLeod’s writing and a strong female lead to present a powerful play.
“I wanted to do a play written by a woman; I know women in town whose husbands go away to work,” says Skelhorne, noting Clifford was just 27 when her husband was killed in a job the couple had hoped would provide the wherewithal to start their own family.
“As an actress, this is one hell of a part and I have a really strong gifted actress, who is just chomping on it. It’s really neat to watch her unfold,” Skelhorne says. “She really goes down to the depths of the ocean.”
But Skelhorne is quick to point out humour, the buoyancy of the human spirit and the beauty of life, even in the darkest moments.
“It’s such a beautiful love story after the loss, so many beautiful moments,” says Skelhorne, who has been a member of Shuswap Theatre since 2007 when she had the lead in Norm Foster’s Kiss the Moon Kiss the Sun.
And, following Jewel, comes another Norm Foster comedy – My Narrator.
Imagine what would happen if that little voice inside your head – the one that tells you how to behave and what choices to make – suddenly took on a life of its own?
For Lacy and Miles, love is what happens, and with hilarious results.
“It’s a really good laugh, light and frothy,” says director Kate McKie of the love story.
“The narrators complicate things by trying to direct their humans to do the right things, but humans don’t always listen to their narrators, that voice in their heads.”
McKie promises further complications but laughingly says they will be divulged at the theatre.
“There are some really funny situations and lot of silly things happen,” she says.
“I see a lot of people I know in it, including self.”
The romantic couple are played by Laura Jean, who is new to Shuswap Theatre and Mike Nash who appeared in Bah Hambug! and The Odd Couple.
Nathan Zwicker and Joy Peters are the offstage narrators who are also the subject of complications.
“I am very grateful to Shuswap Theatre for giving me the opportunity to direct; I have been mentored through it and this is the theatre’s way of getting new directors,” says the School District #83 music teacher. “I said when I went into this, if I could direct 90 kids in a musical, I could direct four people in a play.”
Tickets are available online at www.shuswaptheatre.com or at Intwined Fibre Arts, 81 Hudson Ave NE, Salmon Arm. Performances take place Feb. 20–22, Feb. 26 to Mar 1 and Mar 5 to 7 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday matinees take place at 1:30 p.m.
