From Page V8

His mother never lived to see or hear any of them.
She died well before Tremblay, writing in his native
Montreal jonad (slang), burst into the Quebee consciousness

in 1968 with Les Belles-Socurs.

For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is Trembiay’s tribute
to the woman who created him, Rheauna, here called Nana.

Not a literal recreation of his youth or of his mother, For
the Pleasure of Seeing ber Again Mlows Tremblay the oppor-
tunity to meet his mother again, be shaped by her, educate
her in some small way about the world of theatre and, ulti-

mately, immortalize her.

Most importantly the play allows him: an opportunity to
hear her again, because “words are her weapon.” Small
wonder Tremblay became a writer with this woman in his
background who uses words not just to communicate but to
assess her place within the world.

The play presents a character, named only as Narrator,
who will talk directly to the audience atid play Tremblay at
various ages of childhood, adolescence and youth talking

with his mother.

The episodes range frem the hilarity of the ultimate
scolding for childhood thoughtlessness to a time shortly
before Nana’s death where the truth is confronted head on,
without uie comfort of exaggeration or embellishment for

effect.

Generally events are rehashed in terms of how they

From Page W

He was fearless.”

The Eye sees the spectre
of his daughter, or what he
guesses she looks like, every-
where. When he’s assigned
to a blackmail case but
instead witnesses a murder,
it is his daughter who tells
The Eve not to abandon the
beautiful killer (Ashley
Judd).

The fead rofes are some-
what risky: they ask the

- audience to have sympathy
for a serial killer, and root
for a good-guy-turned-stalk-

er. .
Several Hollywood big-
wigs told Elliott to rewrite:
“The most famous director
_ in Hollywood spun around
and said to me: ‘You can’t
make this film. It’s amoral.
-You’ve got a mass murderer
here you're actually asking
someone to like,” said -
Elliott. uO ,
’ All the opposition and
- ¢riticism: made Elliott more
determined than ever to
forgo the easy safety nets of
Hollywood scriptwriting.
Initially, Ashley Judd was-
n’t what Elliott had in mind
for the role of Joanna. “I
made it very clear that I was
looking for an older actress.
I didn’t want a femme fatale.

- Band loves:
- baseball.
: From Page 21

 Saerilicious Sounds of the
” Swepersuckers.

“It was on my birthday. I
got arrested that night and
went te jail for an open con-
tainer.” ‘

_* Though he hasn’t been a
lifelong © country fan,
Spaghetti and his bandmates
do fove baseball. They grew
up watching. minor league

‘and Cactus “League bail in

-... Arizona. They bought a brick
in the Royal Brougham Fan
Walk at Seattle’s new. Safeco
Field last year, but the. origi-
nal brick was rejected because
it was: “obscene.” All it said
was The Supersuckers.. The
problem was solved when the
words Rock and Roll were
added. - : . :
“If vou see it, spili beer on

it,” Spaghetti jokes.

But Ashley never stopped
lobbying, good on ’er, she
saw the uniqueness of it and
she went for it.”

Ex-North Vancowverite
Jason Priestley plays a part
Elliott originally wrote for
himself, that of a violent
drifter. When Elliott realized
he wouldn’t be able to tack-
le the part himself, he did
his anti-casting: “Right. We
know who we should cast,
who shouldn’t we cast?”

The role is about as far
from Priestley’s 90210 small
screen persona as he could
get, and that’s why he did it.
“Nobody would ever ask
Jason to do anything like
that,” said Elliott. “When he

ot there he just went wild...

¢ looked at me with this lit-
de glint in his eye and said
‘Pve been waiting for this!’”

The film was shot in and
around Montreal because “I
couldn’t find the America I

Friday, January 28, 2000 — North Shore News ~ 2S

remember Gavendish

might have happened if things had gone differently, in terms
of how Nana first imagined they would go, and, oceasional-
ly, in terms of what actually happened. They are then forked
over again in terms of lessons to be learned and on and on
until Nana has assessed all of the implications and achieved,
if noc understanding of the event itself, at least how she
feels about it and how she will remember it — whether or
not her version resembles reality is beside the point.

Important subjects are not so much analyzed in rational
debare as consumed in vhetoric. Bur the logic of the wen
sequitias is so fascinating, the emotional passion of the
woman so engulfing that the audience, like the son, is mes-
merized And therein lies fremblay’s gift ro us all.

Even if your mother was not given to recreating family
history in exaggerated stories, to making up stories if the
facts were unknown; even if your family history is quieter,
less passionate; even if your family’s social origins are quite
difrerent to working-class Montreal, if you loved your
mother of your mother loved you this play will speak to
you,
Cavendish seems destined to be associated with this role
for a long time, just as she was once associated with the role
of the maid Edith in Blithe Spirit and the tite role in Shiriey
Valentine.

She has already received the Montreal Critics Award for
best Actress for her Centaur Theatre performance of the
English-language premiere of For the Pleasure of Seeing Her
Again last season. More awards seem destined to follow as

k.d. lang as a fellow intelli-
gence agent, and cinematog-
rapher Guy Dufaux (Jesus of
Montreal). There’s also the

wanted to shoot, the
America I grew up on,” said
Elliott, “it’s just Burger
King and Motel 6s.

“Toronto’s just as bad. I
found a little bit in
Vancouver but it was still
trying too hard. Then I
walked into old Montreal
and thought ‘Bingo!’”

Other Canadian connec-
tions include the casting of

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hasty matter of non-payment
of money by a Canadian
company. (“I just want to be
paid. That’s not too much
to ask, is it?”)

“Busting your balls.
Busting you... iiterally cut-
ting years off your life,” is

the bay,

Cavendish is committed to this Centaur Theatre/Canadian
Stage Company national tour until November in
Washington, D.C.

It is almost disrespecttul to other good stage actors to
ponder on what determines “star” quality. It's not that oth-
ers make mistakes or lack in some way. Rather it’s that a few
are blessed with a transparency, an honesty, that makes their
performances riveting. TE know when I am in such company |
fear to write notes in the dark of the theatre for fear of
hearing that collective intake of audience breath that signi-
fies | have missed another moment of magic.

Cavendish is potentially a star every time on stage, that
she is the star of For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again is
undeniable.

Not that / want to minimize the contributions of every-
one connected to this production. Director Gordon McCall
must take credit for creating the production that allows
Cavendish to shine and Montreal actor Dennis O'Connor

must alse be recognized for the easy-going, accessible and,

most-of-all, vulnerable vounger Tremblays he creates.

John C. Dinning’s simple set is all that is aecessary but it
also packs one huge perfect surprise I won't reveal.

But it is Cavendish’s Nana that audiences will remember
jong after the details of the play have faded. It might be"
some small, perfectly rendered piece of physical invention,
or it might be a less specific but more encompassing
remembrance of the emotional complexity she illuminates.

Go see her. Go listen to Tremblay. Tingle.

ntreat

how Elliott describes’ his past
experience in the business.
But the fight co get Eve of -
the Beholder made has
empowered Elliott. You
won’t see him taking 15
interviews in a row for any-
one. “This movie pushed me
there. This was the hardest : 3

experience of my life... and a
JASON Priestiey stars

hopefully the most satisfy-
ing.” in Eye of the Beholder.

Last year, a new
pacemaker implant
saved Max's life.

Now: be can spend more time
with his grandfather.

“Please give, to the
Heart and Stroke Foundation...

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