It's hard to imagine a cast and crew more excited by a play. Driftwood Players brings a contemporary production, The Drawer Boy by Michael Healey, to the Heritage Playhouse opening Nov. 5 with experienced actors in two of the roles and a director, Bob Hunt, who freely admits that he is passionate about this play.
Hunt has been involved in theatre for 35 years, and Coast audiences have seen his work in Lend Me a Tenor and as the director of the very popular Ten Lost Years. But directing The Drawer Boy is a dream come true for Hunt.
His enthusiasm is not unfounded. The play has won numerous awards and has become a Canadian classic. Author Michael Ondaatje also praised it as "beautifully written" and he noted that it moves from "hilarity to something devastating and tender." It's a comedy and yet as Driftwood's costume manager Adrienne Uciferri observed: "It's a richer, deeper experience every time we see it." Stage manager Ingrid Bilton felt it important to be part of this production. She wants to see how the play unfolds.
The actors are also enthusiastic. They are: P. Adrien Dorval, who is new to the Coast but a veteran of film and television roles (Sean Penn's The Pledge and TV's DaVinci's Inquest). Richard Austin is an internationally recognized performer of poetry and has solid experience acting in British theatre. Ryan Peters is also fairly new to the Coast but is an emerging talent.
"He's the eye candy," Dorval said.
The play's odd title is a reference to architectural drawings and the aspirations of one of the characters, an aging bachelor farmer, Angus, who lives with farmer Morgan peacefully in the countryside until one day when young Miles (Ryan Peters) arrives from the city to document their lives. This notion is based on a true-life experiment generated by Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille in the 1970s when actors went out to the farms to gather material that would comprise a collectively created docudrama. The result was a new style of theatre, The Farm Show.
Farmer Angus is unable to retain memories because of a head injury from World War II and he can't remember why Miles is there. When Miles unwillingly stumbles upon a long lost secret, memories break through. By exposing the truth, Miles forever alters their lives.
"The actors are so diverse," Hunt said. "The combination is terrific: the new guy, the experienced actor and Richard's Shakespearean voice."
Though the cast is small, a large crew is needed to mount this production. Set design is by Gerry Watson, decoration by Susan Rule and construction co-ordinated by Rod Olafson. Sound design is by J.J. Wagler, lighting by Billie Carroll, and novice producer Jeanne Hage also doubles as stage crew manager.
The Drawer Boy runs Nov. 5 to 7, 12 to 14 and 19 to 21 at 8 p.m. at the Heritage Playhouse in Gibsons. A pay-as-you-can show is set for Wednesday, Nov. 4. Matinées are at 2 p.m. on Nov. 8 and 15. Tickets for $20 are at Gaia's Fair Trade and Hallmark Cards in Gibsons and WindSong Gallery in Sechelt.
