Catch the Keys presents a homegrown Alberta love story

Marriage is a big topic this month in theatre. Over at the Citadel, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf represents the visceral strip down of a broken marriage.

At the opposite end, Catch the Keys Productions hosts the world premiere of Ursa Major, an extraordinary timeless love story between two ordinary people.

Opening the Canoe Theatre Festival on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at the Arts Barns, Ursa Major is the love story between a retired couple whose life is capsized after a horrific car crash and their subsequent journey to regain equilibrium.

Megan and Beth Dart, co-founders of Catch the Keys, have adapted their grandparents true-to-life adventure into narrative of bona fide devotion. In the two-hander, she is known as Bee and he is referred to as Bear.

Playwright Megan Dart reveals that the car crash took place in the late 1990s on Highway 2 with her grandfather sustaining the brunt of the accident.

“A car coming from the opposite direction became airborne and crossed the median. It hit my grandfather’s side of the car and landed upside down, roof-to-roof on the car behind them,” said Dart.

Her grandfather was flown via air ambulance to a hospital. The driver of the out-of-control vehicle died at the site, as did the driver of the car he landed on.

At the hospital, Dart’s grandfather was immobilized with machines keeping him alive. Doctors gave her grandmother a choice – let him slip away or assist him for the rest of his life with everything.

“He’s cared for me all my life. I will not forsake him now,” was her grandmother’s firm response.

Grandfather successfully lived an additional 10 years. Although brain injured, he learned to walk and regained his speech. Unfortunately, it deteriorated after he developed Alzheimer’s disease.

Dart explains that the play “explores deep love and deep devotion and the idea that we as lovers live our life for one another.”

The duo first met when Grandmother was a 17-year-old usherette at a movie theatre.

“He was immediately smitten. When he found out she was underage, he flipped her a dime and told her to phone him on her 18th birthday. They ended up having this very playful, loving relationship.”

In this physically demanding production, Paula Humby and Cliff Kelly, formerly of St. Albert, play the characters Bee and Bear from their late teens to the early 70s.

“Paula’s an incredible actress and she brings to the production a gentleness to the character of Bee. And Cliff suits the character of Bear. Grandfather could walk in a room and demand respect without saying a word. Cliff embodies that. He’s strong, gruff but nurturing.”

With sister Beth directing, Ursa Major it is very much a family affair. Even the title is derived from a family link. The sisters used to spend summers at a Gull Lake family property where constellations were highly visible at night.

“Ursa Major was one of the clearest constellations. For us it was a comforting constellation. If you were on an adventure, you could find your way home. We played with that idea a lot – that the stars will bring you home. When you look at the stars, it’s a humbling experience to know you are part of something greater.”