Director Grace Main places a step ladder in the middle of the stage. “This is the fridge,” she says. Three folding chairs, side by side, stand in for a sofa. I’ve been invited to watch a rehearsal for Having Hope at Home at Studio Theatre Perth and the set hasn’t been built yet.
The actors move through the imaginary space, weaving their story. And the amazing thing is that the farmhouse kitchen takes shape in my mind’s eye. I’m drawn into the story. Such is the magic of live theatre.
Having Hope at Home, by award-winning Canadian playwright David Craig, is the story of a young couple, Carolyn and Michel, who have taken over managing Carolyn’s grandfather’s farm. However, Russel, the grandfather, isn’t so willing to fade into the background. Carolyn is heavily pregnant with their first child and goes into labour just as Bill and Jane, Carolyn’s parents whom she has not seen for several years, arrive for supper. Bill is a renowned obstetrician and can’t believe that his own daughter is intent on having a midwife deliver the child. The play is rich with both drama and clever humour.
There’s lots of local flavour too. The play is set in Brooke Valley just outside Perth, and loosely based on real events. Craig himself has family ties to Lanark County. And this production also features original music by Perth composer Mark Bailey.
Craig first heard the story from real life midwife Dawn King during the birth of his own son. She told how she had assisted with a birth in Brooke Valley during a winter storm. That compelling story captured his imagination.
At the time, during the ’80s, midwifery was still illegal. Any women who did so risked prison for practicing medicine without a license. The home was the centre of women’s power, and hospitals were the centre of male power. It took real courage for pioneering midwives like Dawn King to challenge that power structure.
But beyond the social cause, the play’s richness lies in its complex multi-generational relationships. Each of the characters longs for connection, but struggles to let go of their expectations. Bill can’t see that his battles with his daughter are a mirror of the chasm between him and his own father. Russel wrestles with accepting that his French-Canadian grandson-in-law has taken over the farm. In the end, each of the characters realize that if they want to bridge the divide, they themselves must change.
Director Grace Main says she was drawn to the play by the reality of the characters and the story’s local elements. “The play is funny and charming, but it also has real meat,” she says.
“People will see themselves, or someone in their family,” echoes Jennifer Pfitzer, who plays Jane. “It’s funny, but real,” says David Shaw, the obstetrician/father Bill. Martin Treffers plays Russel, the grandfather. He says the play parallels the struggles he had learning to get along with his own son. Marc Laferrière, who plays Michel, lived the language divide as a child growing up in a French-speaking home in Ontario. “I struggled to lose my accent as a kid, so I would fit in. Now I’m trying to revive it,” he laughs.
Playwright David Craig is reluctant to say what he hopes the audience will take away. “No matter what you write, inevitably it reflects off each person’s own experience,” he explains. “But maybe after seeing this show, they might be tempted to phone their mom,” he adds with a wink.
Get your tickets at Tickets Please (Tickets-Please.ca, 485–6434) or through the Studio Theatre box office. Evening performances are at 7:30pm on September 17, 18, 24 and 25; matineés are at 2pm on September 19, 20, 26 and 27. Opening night tickets on September 17 are $19 ($5 off our regular ticket price of $24), and patrons 30 and under pay only $12 for any performance.