Rosebud Theatre presents the touching and humourous memoir For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again by Michel Tremblay directed by Morris Ertman and starring Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork.
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How the story ends and how the story begins are often the most memorable parts of a story. How does Citizen Kane begin and end? If you’ve seen the movie, I guarantee you the opening images and ending images are clear in your mind.
Beginnings are easy. You start out with a mystery. You make a promise. You hook the audience, and the ending is the payoff. It’s where you fulfill the promise and solve the mystery. After all, Hercule Poirot doesn’t solve the Murder on the Orient Express in the middle of the novel, and he doesn’t end the story by going, “Unfortunately, the little grey cells can’t figure this one out. I’m stumped! Anyone else have a solution?” No, we’re satisfied when a story starts well and ends in a satisfying way. The ending brings us a sense of completeness. And so, I’m happy to report that For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is a touching and humorous memoir filled with plenty of laughs and a few tears that begins well and has a very satisfying and memorable ending.
“Tonight, no one will rage and cry: ‘My Kingdom for a horse!’ No ghost will come to haunt the battlements of a castle in the kingdom of Denmark where, apparently, something is rotten.” So says our narrator at the beginning of For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. He has a great many more examples and much of the fun in this opening monologue is following the references before he explains that tonight the show is going to be about his mom – Nana. It will be an evening not dedicated to the iconic bigger than life characters of the stage but instead, “What you will see tonight is a very simple woman, a woman who will simply talk…. I almost said, about her life, but the lives of others will be just as important: her husband, her sons, her relatives and neighbours. Perhaps you will recognize her. You’ve often run into her at the theatre, in the audience and on stage, you’ve met her in life, she’s one of you. She has existed throughout the ages and in every culture. She always has been present and always will be. I wanted the pleasure of seeing her again. The pleasure of hearing her. So she could make me laugh and cry. One more time, if I may.”
And that I think is one of the reasons For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is such a joy to watch. It’s about a simple woman who in her own way is a bigger than life character. I love good solid memorable stories about real people and Rosebud Theatre and Morris Ertman are masters at bringing stories about common people to life. And what makes this production particularly fun and exciting is the fact that real life mother and son, Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork are cast in the play. “I auditioned for a show directed by Morris Ertman twenty-six years ago,” says Johnson-Diamond, “and he offered me the role. I ended up turning it down because it was out of town and my son Griffin was only two years old. I’ve regretted that for years. Fast forward to now, and I’m finally performing on the Rosebud stage, I get to act with my son, and I’m being directed by the legendary Morris Ertman. So many bucket list wishes fulfilled.”
Griffin who has become a familiar face on the Rosebud stage having most recently appeared in Rosebud Theatre’s production of Chariots of Fire is also checking off a few bucket list items. “I fell in love with Michel Tremblay’s plays in university when I wrote an extra-credit essay on a few of his works, including For The Pleasure of Seeing Her Again. I went to my mom after I graduated, and I was like, ‘I don’t know if you know when you’re going to retire, but before you do, we need to do this play.’ Never did I think I would be getting the chance so early in my career, and I’ll be forever grateful to Morris for the opportunity.”
The play is written by celebrated Québécois novelist and playwright Michel Tremblay and translated into English by Linda Gaboriau. The story is broken into a series of scenes between the narrator and his mother Nana. We’re first introduced to Nana when her son is 10 years of age and he’s gotten in trouble with the cops which truthfully was nothing more than a bit of misguided mischief. We soon learn that Nana has a tendency towards exaggeration and melodrama when she tells her son that she will have to live a life of shame brought on her and the family by his criminal behaviour. It is through these vignettes that we learn how Tremblay’s mother instilled in him a love of reading and theatre and story.
Director Morris Ertman has created a terrific production perfectly paced with rich and memorable performances by Karen Johnson-Diamond and Griffin Cork. The setting is simple being composed of an easy chair on one side of the stage where the narrator spends much of his time as his Nana roams and commands the stage.
As a memoir, the play happily breaks the fourth wall. It’s no secret that we are watching a play. In fact, that’s half the fun. The narrator gives us a wink and the occasional aside while Nana goes off on tangents and exaggerated musings about Aunt Gertrude or is in awe of seeing a live television broadcast of a show featuring French Canadian actress Huguette Oligny. It is during this scene in the play where we learn that our narrator is writing for the stage with his mother’s encouragement and support.
I love this play. I love how it begins, and I love how it ends. In fact, I’d say the ending is perfect, but I won’t reveal the ending because I don’t want to ruin it for you. All I’ll say is that for the next few weeks Michel Trembley’s mother will be alive again. She will be telling her stories and teasing her son. Her fury at his shenanigans will rise up. Her love will shine through. And he will give her the gift of being a part of his world by being a part of a play filled with laughter and tenderness that celebrates the loving relationship between mother and son.
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