REVIEW: New Lemoine a witty wise whimsical comedy
A Likely Story is a new play by Stewart Lemoine and starts the current season for Teatro La Quindicina. A few years back, his adventurous local company decided to upend their year. Never afraid of striking out into new waters, they decided to ignore the traditional pattern and spread their plays through the summer.
It must have worked because they’re still at it. Every season generally features a new play from the writer-director Lemoine, a golden oldie, a special of some sort mounted for the Fringe, and another pulled from the 60 or so plays the prolific playwright has written over the years. A Likely Story plays at the Varscona Theatre until June 22.
To call this play a witty, wise comedy with exotic locals, quirky characteristics and colourful locales all held together by Lemoine’s patented sophisticated, epigrammatic language would probably sum up the reaction of the audience on opening night. All that would be true – but it would certainly overburden a light, whimsical, and inventive evening.
The play begins with a prologue delivered with grand comic relish by long-time Lemoine regular Jeff Haslam – as Karl, who will be our waiter for the night. He tells us that there will be no author tonight. The characters will be invented before our eyes and they will make it up as they go along. No, this is not an evening of improv – just a carefully crafted whimsy, impeccably honed. Haslam guides the players, making suggestions and producing props, tables and a marvelous variety of libations when occasion demands. “We will be discovering things together,” he promises.
We meet four actors and a bewildering number of European eccentrics. With the help of Baedeker’s Travel Guide, they will plot adventures that will take us all over Europe on a capricious railroad that goes through Basel, Switzerland, where it all begins, to Salamanca in Spain, and thence to Gdansk. No tickets, no passports, no luggage required. However, there are many stops along the way which allow the actors to debate the properties of the word “Mars,” for instance, building huge and often rickety edifices of words that begin with the smallest of observations to discover important things about each other. Lemoine even runs in a spirited Spanish dance, and an equally spirited Bavarian schuhplattler – you know, the one with all the stamping and slapping.
The main characters on the journey are Theo (an appealing Rachel Bowron), who is looking to break up with her betrothed, who turns out to be so dull that people keep putting their hands across his mouth in the middle of conversations. Mathew Hulshof plays a parade of quirky exotics, including Theo’s fiance Crosby. Their rocky relationship transforms into something quite tender in a touching scene where the two characters actually pay attention to each other’s words and uncover deep feelings. Barbara (Jenny McKillop) is not sure what’s going on. She is one of Lemoine’s favourite characters – someone who seems to be rootless but waiting to be drawn into the action. Cyril (Vincent Forcier) becomes a faithful traveling companion and along the way finds unexpected happiness.
As is Lemoine’s wont, near the end he changes tone completely as Haslam – who is now a grieving husband – and McKillop stand beside the Baltic sea, sharing an honest and moving scene of loss and loneliness.
The entire evening is a polished gem, genuine and genuinely funny, and a worthy addition to Lemoine’s collection of well-spent evenings at the theatre.
Photos by Mat Busby
