Langham Court Theatre kicks off its 83rd season with a fresh look at a classic Canadian comedy.
Tony Cain makes his directorial debut with Langham Court and The Melville Boys, written by Norm Foster in 1984, and he’s not afraid to bring out some of the darker elements of this lighthearted and comedic play.
“People have said to me, ‘I’ve never seen the play be so dark,’ and I say ’look, this is 2011, not 1984, we’ve come a long way since then. We’ve had dramatic changes in society and our values,” says Cain.
The play follows two brothers, Lee and Owen, who escape to a lakeside cabin for some relaxation and a good heart-to-heart. Lee has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and wants to tenderly encourage his younger and less mature brother to fill his shoes and take responsibility for the family. When two sisters unexpectedly arrive, the quartet are thrown into a journey of self discovery.
“So what could have been a happy little, cheerful comedy has underlying issues of very serious nature, coming from a 2011 point of view. The dark fringes come out a bit more. People in the audience will identify with the tragic circumstances of losing loved ones to cancer, and I felt I couldn’t ignore that. The comedy comes out in how the characters deal with what’s thrown at them,” says Cain.
The Melville Boys will also be the first production with Langham Court for Robert Conway who plays Lee, Shara Campsall as Mary and Brittany Drew as Loretta. Ben Sutherland is returning as Owen Melville.
Local artistic photographer Helga Hendricks will have her art on display in the lounge for the duration of the run, Sept. 28 to Oct. 15. She will be in attendance Sunday, Oct. 2, from 1 to 4 p.m. M