ON STAGE
What: The Best of Friends
Where: Theatre Inconnu, 1923 Fernwood Rd.
When: May 2 through May 18
Tickets: $14 regular ($10 seniors/students/unwaged) from (250-590-6291) or (250-360-0234)
Rachel Wyatt and Clayton Jevne have known each other for years, and, given their chosen professions 鈥� Wyatt is a writer, while Jevne is a theatre director 鈥� discussions between the two Victoria residents inevitably involve working together.
That long relationship has led to the creation of The Best of Friends. Jevne is directing Wyatt鈥檚 adaptation of her 2010 book, Letters to Omar, at Theatre Inconnu through May 18, after a one-off version in 2016 proved successful. The play has been expanded beyond the one-woman show about Letters to Omar鈥檚 main character, Dorothy (who is played by Geli Bartlett), into a fully-formed play that also involves her two best friends, Kate (Gloria Snider) and Elsie (Maureen Van Wyck).
The Best of Friends will have its world premi猫re at Theatre Inconnu, with an adaptation Jevne feels will please fans of the book.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 have to do a lot because Rachel has written so much, in terms of dramatizing stories. She has a whole history of writing drama for the CBC, and BBC, and her stories have been produced as plays professionally. She has a pretty good handle on what works and what doesn鈥檛 work.鈥�
The book on which the play is based has been described as being centred around 鈥渁 gaggle of deluded, elderly women bent on saving the world, one dinner party at a time.鈥�
There are a number of elements that seemingly appear out of nowhere 鈥� Dorothy writes letters to actor Omar Sharif, among other celebrities, while a dead goat gets stuffed into the trunk of a car at one point 鈥� but the plainspoken reality of their lives is something that Jevne identified with.
鈥淚 like stories that deal with a slice of life, the little conflicts and resolutions that happen throughout the journey of a certain period of time. You know this kind of story is going to go on, but you鈥檝e seen a little section of their lives.鈥�
Wyatt, a member of the Order of Canada and a Queen鈥檚 Jubilee Medal winner, has written six novels (including The Rosedale Hoax, Foreign Bodies and Time鈥檚 Reach) in addition to several plays, from Crackpot to For Love or Money. The former director of the writing program at the Banff Centre has spent the majority of her career writing drama for the CBC and BBC, which gives her stage work a clean, unfettered feel that works wonders in The Best of Friends, Jevne said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a story about friendships, and what you have to do if you want it to endure. You have to admit to a certain vulnerability, and that involves trust. The support they have for each other ebbs and flows, and they have to keep renewing it.鈥�
