Independence by Lee Blessing.
An Eighth Avenue Theaire pro-
- duction directed by Carolanne
Fenz at Presentation House.
Tues. to Sat. at 8 p.m. to June
19. Res: S88 6414.

HAT DO you
think families are

- for? Do you think
‘we die after 212” screams.
Evelyn Briggs as her daugh-
ters attempt te cut the
stranglehold of an umbilical
cord that stretches back
over 150 years of family his-
“tory.

She hurls words at her daugh-
ters with the same savagery that
she hurls crockery in the garage ~
hurting herself in both instances.

Poor Evelyn is dealing with
ghosts, ‘

The ghosts of her mother and
grandmother and the way they
shaped her; the ghost of a hus-
band who inhabited every room in
the family house but not her soul,
and the ghosts of her daughters.

Her oldest, the control-freak
Kess who learned in childhood to
cry silently, and youngest, Sherry,
who seeks an identity in sculpture
and meaningless sex, have already

In the same tradition of

DEEP COVE Stage has breathed new life into Noel Coward’s Glithe Spirit. The locat production,

running at the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre until June 19, features actcrs Arlyne Fenster (left to
Aight), Bill Tolson and Ruth Korchuk. Tickets are available at 929-3200.

jeft. In spirit, if not in the flesh.
‘Jo, the middle daughter for
whom Evelyn had to beg her hus-
band, is fading fast.

She has invited Kess back home
for the first time in four years

. because “I need you to stand up
for me.” oe

Evelyn has just punched (or
pushed) her, she is pregnant and
wants to marry her poyiriend, The
events are not unconnected.

As Jo grapples with what she.
must ultimately do in self-defence,
we come to understand the
dangers of rampant matriarchy.

The darker side of mother/
daughter relationships is fertile,
even well-worn, ground for play-
wright Lee Blessing, but there is
much humor in Independence
that Eighth Avenue and director
Carolanne Fenz exploit well.

Barbara Hanna’as Evelyn re-
mains totally unaware of the odd-
ness of her blunt, “mad” logic
throughout, successfully support-
ing the comedy but ultimately
drawing our pity fer her iselation.

Brydon Barrett (jo), Deborah
McKay (Kess) and Tamara McCar-
thy (Sherry) create strong, vibrant
characters but are faced with
separating the tangled strands of a
dysfunctional family.

As the skein is unraveled, not all

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June 20ih

our ever-popular Mother's Day

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NEWS photo Paul McGrath

the awkward twists and turns of
their stunted relationships with
each other and particularly their
mother are quite clear enough.
The set looks great and in true
community fashion is a tribute to
recycling and hard work.
Unfortunately it does nothing to
evoke a home where nothing has
changed in a small lowa town
where nothing changes and, given
the dialects, perhaps the refer-
ences should be dropped.
Criticism aside, this is still a solid
production of a good script that
will resonate with any mother or
daughter.
Tuesday to Thursday are 2 for 1
nights. Call her up.
- Martin Millerchip

" ERG 2

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