Brian Friel
A Slow-Down and an Enjoyable Play
02/08/09 17:09 Filed in: Writing
A surprise long weekend. Monday is, apparently, New
Brunswick Day. I didn't know it was coming up but,
fortunately, I didn't plan any meetings so I have a
nice three-day weekend.
Patti has gone back to Ontario for the weekend so it's very quiet here. Marlee and I are spending quality time together, going for walks, lying on the couch watching movies, sleeping. Perhaps not surprisingly, though, this means I'm not doing much writing. I'm not too concerned about it, though. I am doing a lot of thinking about the next patch so it's not all wasted time.
I have been amazed at how much this last part of the novel expanded and how important it became. It was supposed to be simply a bridge passage between one major plot development and the next and, instead, it has taken on a life of its own. I think it's quite good and there is both some good suspense and some strong character development, so that too is exciting.
Friday night, some friends and I went down to Saint John to catch the opening of a new theatre group dedicated to reviving Irish Theatre in the port city. Headed up by a colleague of Patti's from work, Patrick Toner, the theatre company —"An Amharclann" — put on a performance of Brian Friel's Faith Healer. Now, I personally like Brian Friel's work very much, having read and attended a performance of his lovely piece, Dancing at Lughnasa, in Toronto some years ago. As a result, I was interested to see what this fledgling company would do with Faith Healer, a fairly challenging play.
I have to admit, I attended more to support a colleague than with the expectation of quality theatre but was pleased to find myself impressed with the performance. Faith Healer consists of four monologues by three different characters, all telling their own recollections of their lives together. It's funny in parts, heartbreakingly sad in others and it is in the inconsistencies of the different versions of the stories that we learn the most about the characters.
I felt David Cook was excellent in the title role, Frank, the Faith Healer. He was both natural and entertaining, sympathetic despite the often horrific portrait that is painted of his character, often unintentionally, by the others. Mr. Cook could have projected better into the balcony, where we were sitting, but I associate the Irish with quiet, lilting voices so the fact that I missed the occasional word or phrase seemed appropriate.
Willow Edwards also delivered with her performance as Grace, Frank's companion (lover, mistress, wife, care-giver, etc.). Edwards, in my opinion, faced the toughest task, taming an often over-the-top emotional monologue to make it sympathetic, effective. She did a nice job, capturing the audience's attention and working us nicely through a very sad set of stories.
The weak link in the chain was Bob Vienneau, in the role of Teddy, Frank's manager. One hallmark of Teddy's character is that he is Cockney, as opposed to the other two, Irish characters. Unfortunately, Vienneau's struggle to produce a Cockney accent often undermined his presentation of the character and, perhaps more importantly, his version of the story. As one of my companions suggested, the company would have been better off to adjust the play's script slightly to rescue Vienneau from the accent. With a little tweaking, it might have been fun to allow him simply to be a French Canadian.
As I said above, I was impressed with the play. This is an excellent start for the new company with another play to come for St. Patrick's Day next year. I will look forward to that.
In the meantime, to my amazement my tiny little cucumber vines have suddenly popped out bright yellow flowers. These six-inch plants are actually going to try to grow cucumbers — heavy veggies that will outweigh the plants themselves long before they reach full size. I wish I could convince them to wait!
Patti has gone back to Ontario for the weekend so it's very quiet here. Marlee and I are spending quality time together, going for walks, lying on the couch watching movies, sleeping. Perhaps not surprisingly, though, this means I'm not doing much writing. I'm not too concerned about it, though. I am doing a lot of thinking about the next patch so it's not all wasted time.
I have been amazed at how much this last part of the novel expanded and how important it became. It was supposed to be simply a bridge passage between one major plot development and the next and, instead, it has taken on a life of its own. I think it's quite good and there is both some good suspense and some strong character development, so that too is exciting.
Friday night, some friends and I went down to Saint John to catch the opening of a new theatre group dedicated to reviving Irish Theatre in the port city. Headed up by a colleague of Patti's from work, Patrick Toner, the theatre company —"An Amharclann" — put on a performance of Brian Friel's Faith Healer. Now, I personally like Brian Friel's work very much, having read and attended a performance of his lovely piece, Dancing at Lughnasa, in Toronto some years ago. As a result, I was interested to see what this fledgling company would do with Faith Healer, a fairly challenging play.
I have to admit, I attended more to support a colleague than with the expectation of quality theatre but was pleased to find myself impressed with the performance. Faith Healer consists of four monologues by three different characters, all telling their own recollections of their lives together. It's funny in parts, heartbreakingly sad in others and it is in the inconsistencies of the different versions of the stories that we learn the most about the characters.
I felt David Cook was excellent in the title role, Frank, the Faith Healer. He was both natural and entertaining, sympathetic despite the often horrific portrait that is painted of his character, often unintentionally, by the others. Mr. Cook could have projected better into the balcony, where we were sitting, but I associate the Irish with quiet, lilting voices so the fact that I missed the occasional word or phrase seemed appropriate.
Willow Edwards also delivered with her performance as Grace, Frank's companion (lover, mistress, wife, care-giver, etc.). Edwards, in my opinion, faced the toughest task, taming an often over-the-top emotional monologue to make it sympathetic, effective. She did a nice job, capturing the audience's attention and working us nicely through a very sad set of stories.
The weak link in the chain was Bob Vienneau, in the role of Teddy, Frank's manager. One hallmark of Teddy's character is that he is Cockney, as opposed to the other two, Irish characters. Unfortunately, Vienneau's struggle to produce a Cockney accent often undermined his presentation of the character and, perhaps more importantly, his version of the story. As one of my companions suggested, the company would have been better off to adjust the play's script slightly to rescue Vienneau from the accent. With a little tweaking, it might have been fun to allow him simply to be a French Canadian.
As I said above, I was impressed with the play. This is an excellent start for the new company with another play to come for St. Patrick's Day next year. I will look forward to that.
In the meantime, to my amazement my tiny little cucumber vines have suddenly popped out bright yellow flowers. These six-inch plants are actually going to try to grow cucumbers — heavy veggies that will outweigh the plants themselves long before they reach full size. I wish I could convince them to wait!