The sixties played a big part in the development of my sense of humour. When I came to Canada in 1967 people wondered which planet I was from when I talked about Beyond the Fringe, The Goon Show, That Was The Week That Was (TW3 to the In Crowd) and Monty Python. Those shows were barely on this side of the pond and most people hadn’t heard of them. Alan Bennett, born in Leeds, England in 1934, was one of the Beyond the Fringe crazy people, along with Peter Cook, Dudley Moore and Jonathan Miller, and he went on to be a hugely successful playwright with plays like The Madness of King George (four Oscars) and Talking Heads I & II on his list of major successes.
When I saw that First Stages Theatre Company was going to do Talking Heads, which consists of four of short plays, at the Capitol Theatre I counted the days. Last Sunday the day came and I wish I could find enough superlatives to describe to you how absolutely marvelous the four plays and the four actors who read them were.
First was A Chip in the Sugar read by First Stages Artistic Director/Producer/Magic Man Robert Latimer. Robert read the parts of Graham, his 72 year-old somewhat forgetful mother with whom he has lived all his life and his mother’s new gentleman caller. Robert was absolutely incredible and had us laughing and crying and thanking our lucky stars that we have him and First Stages.
Second was Her Big Chance read by Alex Dallas. Alex is from England and came here with the hugely successful female comedy troupe Sensible Footwear that toured Canada and the US for 18 years. What a treat she was as Lesley, an out of work actress who auditions for a part in a dubious film with dubious producers and directors. She has to strip to her undies for the audition and to her all-together for the filming. She also takes great advantage of the casting couch both before and after she gets the part.
Next was Andrea Risk reading Bed Among the Lentils. Andrea was quite wonderful as Susan, the wife of a vicar, who likes a tipple quite frequently, probably doesn’t believe in God and embarks on a very sweet affair with an Indian gentleman who owns an off-license in Leeds where she goes sometimes on Sunday evenings to buy her booze while her husband is in church conducting evensong.
And finally, Robert’s co-director for these plays, Maria Heidler, plays Miss Fozzard in Miss Fozzard Finds her Feet. Miss Fozzard has given up her job in a department store to care for her brother who has had a stroke. Her chiropodist, to whom she has gone for many years, decides to retire and recommends another to her. She goes reluctantly and embarks on a relationship with the new chiropodist that is extremely unconventional. On all kinds of levels! There are many twists and turns involving her brother — she hires a care-giver for him and goes back to work — and her co-workers, who find out about her chiropody appointments. Maria’s ability to read all the parts with a different voice each time was a tour de force and had the audience at the Capitol Theatre totally enthralled.
Those of you who missed this memorable afternoon missed an opportunity to laugh out loud a lot, to experience the talent of four remarkable performers and to be part of what has become a Port Hope institution: First Stages Theatre Company. I urge you to get your tickets now for the next performance: Duet for One by Tom Kempinski. It’s an extremely moving story about a concert violinist who is stricken with Multiple Sclerosis and has to retire from the stage. Her MS also threatens her marriage. It will be an amazing afternoon with actors Karen Sweet and David Gardner playing the roles, directed, of course, by our own Robert Latimer. It’s on March 22nd at 3:00 pm at the Capitol. The box office is 905.885.1071 or 1.800.434.5092. I sincerely hope to see you there.
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