- Past, ‘present and future collide in new play /f We Are Women

if We Are Women by Joanna Mc-
Clelland Glass. A Vancouver
-.. Playhouse production directed by
Susan Cox. To Jan. 29. Informa-
tion and reservations: 872-6622.

“The woman of 1960, Is the

ame as in 1860, And i in two-

housand-sixty, tt will be the same
c again, She'll rise at dawn, And it

will fall to her, To wash the semen

from the sheets, And bear the

ghd,

O. SAYS 5 Rachel, the
‘edicated:Jewish
mother-in-law, as she
“muses on the nature of her
- <own unfulfillment, sexual
and otherwise. - ns

actical,” ter oe
‘People fave changed since eh
ff. all fours...

A Canatain playwright Joanna:
Clelland Glass ethos these t two
‘wo

das
tc oidauener ee wat to come. ‘
home after staying out all night. for
‘the’ first time: :
he « ‘ont sting | voices of the |
der géneration is one of th
‘strongest facets of If We Are.

“Over 15..
vegetarian |

Martin Millerchip

THEATRE REVIEW

ife-ex-
_ Petience, We ee
Glass takes her tie from Virgini
Woolf, who said, We think.
_ back through our mothers, ifw we
are women.” %:
With three g generations of
women on stage and a.fourth”
_ described (Ruth's sod-farmer
. parents.are eloquently evoked as

i.“ beasts of burden’), a detailed

‘family, history, is gradually pres-
ented piece by piece. .
‘Like Ruth's crocheted tablectoth
it is a mosaic, constructed one
piece at a time, that will be passed

_ On to future generations,

:Whether young Polly will profit

from the experience, mistakes and © ©

‘carefully nurtured sorrows’’ of °:

her mother and grandparents i isa *.

- moot point.

| uty ing in Tr

Turning her back on Yale, 18-
ear-old Pally plans to embrace
ife on the farm with her fellow
“victim of divorce,” the boy with

whom she spent the night,

Refusing to believe that
“misery is inevitable,” Polly

decries the efforts of her elders as
they strive to prevent her from
throwing her life away and
repeating the mistakes of the past.

“You think you’re wise and
experienced and you're really just
old and cynical,” she says as she
challenges each of her relatives’
lives in turn,

But Polly, as vital and invincible
as any 18-year-old, is as trapped
by her need for a man as her
grandparents were — without
even knowing i it. ,

I hope the irony is apparent-as
Polly waxes her legs for her man
while the others hastily prepare a
good dinner...

Certainly Polly’ s later confession
-to the audience that “Charles
Whitman is a rescue mission’’

‘brought an audible response.

Comedy and tragedy combined
in a moment of sad recognition

_ Shared by most of the audience.

This recognition, familiarity
_ even, is the bedrock that guaran-
© tees the success of this new play
from Glass.

“It has received a handsome pro-

’ duction at the hands of director

_ Susan Cox... .

The cast of Diane D'Aquila
(Jessica), Patricia Hamilton (Ruth),
Rita Howell (Rachel) and Ruth

McIntosh (Polly) is immensely

"Here we feature some of our irdinner items
‘Come SCOTTADITO - ~ mused wlepicy tomato eauce $5.95
. MELANZANE AL FORNO baked lemgpet 25

-FUGILLIQUATIRO FORMAGGI- wor cheeses $2.95

~ UNGUNE LIMONE E CARCIOFI wilemon, capere Bartichoke hearts $B. 95

he CANELLONI DELLA CASA- baked, wiveal & chicken staffing $9.95

~ UNGUINE GAMBERON- - spicy pravis white wine 295
~ ROMBO AL BASILCO- halt wiresh basi Bwhitevine 912.96 .

GAMBERON AL VINO BIANCO- prawns: wiwtitte wit, lemon B.garlc $12.95

4 RESERVATIONS RECOMMENDED

RIVE, NORTH VA

~ (Opposite ; Save-on: Foods
Ample parking i in rear

_ distance lends perspective.

2 ad tional

NCOUVER —

shoesiring

TODAY IS the day to check

out the more than 250 works

of art available for sale or rent

in the top floor gallery of

North Vancouver's Pres-
_ entation House,

The works will be on
display this afternoon be-
tween 6 and 8 p.m. For more
information, contact the
North Vancouver Arts Council.

strong and the design nothing
short of brilliant.

| have one serious reservation,
however, which | have kept to the
end since there is more than
enough in script and production to
make it worth seeing.

At the end of the play | still had
no clear idea of Jessica’s soul,

Who was this successful writer
who is given to uttering trite
hyperbole under pressure?

What is she like when she is not
mourning? A

} thought at first that Cox and B ; ,

D‘Aquila had made too many ;
Open

choices based on strength rather
than weakness with the result that
Regular Hours
Tuesday - Saturday

926-4913

—wew

there was no justification for the
occasional purple lines that Jessica
launches like self-indulgent titerary
bricks,

That may indeed be the case,
but havin subsequentl read the
script | stl don’t think Glass has
achieved the same clarity with the
character closest {in age atany
rate) to herself as with the other
two generations ortrayed.

Perhaps, as in Mary Kerr's set,

Early Bird
SPECIALS

5:30 - 6: 15PM |

_$ 10. 95. :

One final word on this set.

We have, been privileged to see
consistently good, even great,
designs at the Playhouse over the
last four years.

But I cannot recal! a set since A
Lie Of The Mind that has so elo-
quently captured the essence of a
play.

Interior, exterior, ‘Saskatchewan
fields, Connecticut seas, a frame
for the house; a frame for the play.

Gallo. ; :
Javan is well known for his experience & imveent in several ine
Halian restaurants inVAncouver,
Now Javan has opened his own restaurant, He insits c on serving.
~ + only the highest quality of food. He goes So far as to import many | of.
“his ingredients direct form Italy. Vince brings to ‘Moustache Cafe over -
25 years of restaurant, experience, having owned & cooked for two
extremely successful restaurants i in Montreal. 2 0°
Vinca frequently retuns to Italy to further his cooking talents in
Italian cuisine. °
davan & Vince took: forward t serving you & your fiends in the Now
Year.: :
We also specialize j in ‘catering & would be happy tc assist you in
preparing any Special occasion.” ;

« SCALOPPINE DIVITELLO MOUSTACHE witrushrooms, cognac & cream $1295

MAJOR CREDIT
CARDS ACCEPTED
. HOURS
Mon.-Fri. 8 am-3 pm (Breakfast & Lunch)

Mon.-Sat. 5:30 pm-10:30pm 0° + |
Sat. &. Sun. Brunch 9 am- -3 pm ;