PREVIEW
The Finest of Strangers
Teatro La Quindicina
May 31 to June 16
At Varscona Theatre
10329 – 83 Ave.
Tickets: Singles start at $25. Call 780-433-3399 or visit www.teatroq.com
More than three decades ago playwright-director Stewart Lemoine turned an Old Strathcona fire hall into the Varscona Theatre. With imagination and a non-stop stream of enticing, fizzy scripts, he created the Teatro La Quindicina, a celebrated troupe that is synonymous with excellent craftsmanship.
As resident playwright, Lemoine has a knack for writing a dramatic comedy mix all the while keeping you on the edge of your seat. This year Teatro kicks off its 36th season with a premiere of The Finest of Strangers starting May 31.
Ever the clever playwright, Lemoine stirs together bits of romantic comedy with time-bending mystery and possibly a ghost.
He has crafted an intriguing premise about a CBC reporter, Bruce Faraday, who proposes to research a piece on people’s attachment to places. Bruce starts with his own childhood home.
He knocks on the door and the current owner Mavis Craig invites him in. She leaves the room and he sits on the couch. Suddenly, he is unable to rise.
“He has a strange experience. There is another presence in the room. No one knows how it arrived. He can’t leave. In fact, it’s imperative he not leave,” said Lemoine.
The seed for questioning past memories and attachments surfaced three years ago when Varscona received a million dollar renovation from the basement to the rafters.
“The front part of the Varscona where I had spent so much of my life no longer existed. And a few weeks later, we sold my parents' home where they had lived for 47 years. It was a centre – a place to go back to – and suddenly somebody else owned it,” said Lemoine speaking candidly about the feelings of loss.
He goes on to add that people like to feel a lingering presence of departed dear ones. As they turn to different areas searching for explanations, it becomes an opportunity to re-evaluate their own lives.
“What can you relearn about life when you revisit something years later? Is there a point you didn’t need to know something? Is it helpful to dig into the past, or is it best forgotten? If you could confer with a person from the past what would you say to them? What would you want them to say to you?” are some of the questions he asks.
The cast of eight brings together veteran stars, newcomers and seasoned actors who haven’t appeared with Teatro for several years. They include Teatro’s artistic producer Jeff Haslam as Bruce Faraday and newcomer Patricia Darbasie as Mavis.
Leona Brausen returns to Teatro as the colourful Aunt Marj and Davina Stewart is Alison Palmer, a woman mysteriously connected to the past.
Julien Arnold as Leland is a person who stumbles in searching for a party and Michelle Diaz is the mysterious but helpful Cleo. Mark Bellamy is back as Billy, a fella who enjoys music, and prepare for Cathy Derkach’s striking entrance.
“Since the 1990s this has been our home. We’ve programmed consistently and we’ve built a great and loyal audience.”
