It’s a question people face as they age – is it time to move into a retirement community?
A new play, written by the late Edward Kuhn and produced by TheatreOne, takes a humorous look at what happens when a long-married couple must make that decision.
Tamarack features three characters – husband and wife who live in a drafty house in the woods, and their helpful neighbour – as they come to terms with aging.
“At some point, we all face that dilemma,” said Patsy Ludwick, who plays Annie, the wife who wants to move back to civilization.
Annie’s husband, Henry, played by Vancouver’s Vince Metcalfe, built the home in an effort to get back to nature. He’s an artist, more interested in his poetry than the storm raging around the couple, which knocks out the power and threatens to bring the roof down on top of them.
“It all goes fine until the kids leave home,” Ludwick said. “The house is starting to show its cracks.”
Matthew Walker, who plays the ever-helpful neighbour, Norman, was attracted to the humour in the piece about people from his generation.
“It’s fun,” he said. “It shows that old people are fun.”
Ludwick and Walker relate to the couple as the two actors are neighbours on Gabriola Island, having moved there after successful careers in theatre and film.
They understand the work involved in keeping a house standing, as well as the storms, bringing wind and rain to damage the house.
“It’s a lot like driving,” Walker said. “At some point, you can’t drive anymore.”
The play went on to win the 2009 National Playwriting Competition but its author died only a few days before the winners were announced.
Two of Kuhn’s adult children, who live on Vancouver Island, helped finalize the play for the stage by sharing their memories of the cabin in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia.
“He [Kuhn] actually lived this life,” Walker said.
Tamarack opens April 25, 7:30 p.m., with a preview night, followed by regular shows April 26-28 at 7:30 p.m. and April 28-29 at 2 p.m., at Malaspina Theatre at Vancouver Island University. Tickets $26; $21/preview night through Port Theatre ticket centre at 250-754-8550 or visit www.porttheatre.com.
For more information, please visit www.theatreone.org.
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