Take a trip to Wonderville, if you can, this weekend or next. It's a hilarious place to be, if a little eccentric. You'll find this town on stage at the Heritage Playhouse in a full production of a contemporary comedy by Driftwood Players, directed by Barb McColl, assisted by Casey Kneller and written by Vancouver playwright Kico Gonzalez-Risso.
Most people who arrive in Wonderville, like officious Minister for the North Owen Muel, played by Coast newcomer Daniel Tyrrell, think they are lost. They are looking for a town full of people who run a hospital, a school and the Northern Lights Festival - in short, a real town, operating on government funds that have filled Wonderville's coffers for years. But during Muel's official visit, he discovers that everything is run by just two people, Buster MacRae played by John O. Smith, and Miss Pringle, played by Susan Rule.
When Aurora, a native woman dragging a frozen corpse in a bearskin, shows up seeking an ancestral burial ground, it only adds to Muel's confusion. Then, a brash U.S. senator and a bickering CBC-TV crew are thrown into the mix until everyone's confused. Performing a farce, such as Wonderville, is harder than it looks. The timing must be good, the pace impeccable. For the most part, this cast is able to keep it lively and funny. The play starts slowly but quickly bubbles up and is soon over the top, though perhaps it is not as wild as the previous popular Driftwood production of Lend Me a Tenor. Wonderville features some top notch performances: Aurora is played with great talent by Trish Atkinson who gives a gentle parody of the ways of the Aboriginal. And there's a louder than life performance from Senator Byron. S. Bull (Dave Hurtubise) with his not-so-gentle embellishment on the ways of the loud-mouthed American with a gun.
Rule, who must surely be one of the busiest actors on the Coast, is always a delight. She was most recently seen in the Christmas pantomime as part of the Catchem and Skinnem duo, plus she has worked on set construction for Waiting for the Parade and costumes for Wonderville.
Along with professional actors Hurtubise (he is usually directing plays, not acting in them) and Peter Yunker, who plays the part of a poetic CBC cameraman, several Driftwood newcomers also appear. Dianna Barton, by day a dental assistant, readily assumes the part of an assertive journalist with a voice like Jean Chrétien, who is searching the north for her darling Boris lost on the tundra. Tyrrell, who adopts the character of Minister for the North, is new to the Coast, but not to acting. He's worked in Vancouver theatre for years. The cast is a good mix of novice and experienced. The work of northern poet Robert Service (The Cremation of Sam McGee) sets the tone, and the play opens and closes with a little fractured Service verse from the playwright.
This Driftwood production will not be televised - a decision supported by Coast Cable and promoted in the interests of getting the audience out to see and feel the warmth and energy of a live performance. If you've never attended live theatre, Wonderville is a good choice.
It runs this weekend, March 23 and 24, with a 2 p.m. matinée on the 24th, then March 29, 30 and 31. Tickets are $15 at Gaia's Fair Trade, Hallmark Cards and Talewind Books. A dinner theatre discount is available at Trio's Restaurant in Gibsons.
