22 — Friday. October 16, 1998 — North Shore News Faith, hope and charity @ Berlin Bertie 21 Howard Brenion. -roduced by Sea Tinntre at Presentation House to Oct. 24. SEX, politics and religion used to be offered as the holy trinity of conversation fillers by intense partygoers territied that the talk might curn personal. : Martin MitercHie You can usually counton playwright | Howard Brenton to contbine sex and polities tor maxinium shock value, but Berlin Bertie also has something interesting to sav about reli- gion (or more particularly, faith -— even if it’s in false idols). Tt’s a play set in England in 1990, but rooted in changes in Europe. It contrasts a British generation abandoned by social (as in socialist) welfare, with the possibilities inherent in the destruction of a totalitarian socialist state (East Germany}. On a personal level, Brenton weaves a complex tale of two sisters: one using drugs to escape a pain that is arguably more the fault ofa social nenvork stretched bevond endurance, the CURTAIN CALL NEWS S photo cindy Goodman THE face of hopelessness. Linda Quibeli (left to right), Jonathan Sutton and Dawn Petten explore England’s barren wilderness in Berlin Bertie at Presentation House until Oct. 24. other an older and apparently wiser woman who has aban- doned the very core of her life on the basis of a cruel lic. Alice is the vounger sister. Living in an ex-council estate with Sandy, a recent long- term (one month) boythend. At first, there appears to be a huge intellectual and social gap between them. She was a social worker but is on the verge of becoming like her violent case load (she has just blinded a potential john). Sandy on the other hand has little education but knows how to survive in the dog- eat-dog world of capitalism. Joanne is the youngest member of the group and, apparently, the most clueless. A child already inured to death, it is Joanne who, despite her naivety and nihilism, will offer a w: ay to Jeave the past behind. Linda Quibell’s Alice pro- vides a solid, natural centre to the production with excellent work trom Jonathan Sutton and Marie Stillin as Sandy and Rosa. Caveats: the set is so wide it loses a needed sense of con- finement; Joanne’s white face paint removes the character from the play and actor Dawn Petten’s dialect is distracting. Brenton’s play would pro- vide food enough for any intellectual party and Sea Theatre have more than enough right to keep you chewing on the mind meat. To the thousands of St. John Ambulance Volunteers: Bigger thease 7 dare. St John Ambulance it you are Interested in becoming a St. John Ambulance votunteer pleate Contact your local St. John Ambulance branch, From now om to pay a refundable deposit ou have ready-to-drink verage containers. BUT RELAX. WE'RE MAKING IT EASY FOR YOU FO GET YOUR MONEY BACK. On October 1, 1998 British Columbia introduced new regulations that require a refundable deposit on a wider range of beverage containers than before. Most ready-io-drink beverages sold in BC are included but there are a few legislated exceptions: . 1) Milk and milk substitute containers of af sizes and types; 2) Polycoat paper containers of all sizes (Le. aseptic drink boxes and gable top cartons). The good news is that deposit levels are reduced: just 5¢ for containers up to and including 1 litre and 20¢ for containers bigger than 1 litre. Getting your deposit refund is easy when you follow these simple steps. SAVE ’EM Save your BC bought ready-to-drink beverage containers from soft drinks to juice. Containers for milk and milk substitutes of all types and sizes, drink boxes of all sizes and coated gable top drink cartons of all sizes are - excluded at this time, by legislaiian. SORT EM Sort at home by the deposit you paid: 5¢ or 20¢. The more sorting you do at home, the faster your visit to the Return” Centre will be. Alcoholic beverage containers wili be accepted at Return-ff™ Centres where deposit refund levels may vary. They are not accepted at grocery stores. CASH ‘ERG ii Once your used beverage containers are sorted, cash em in at any Return-ft™ Centre. So for a change, and a change for the better, be sure to Return-it™ For more information and the location of the Retum-™ Centre nearest you please visit our website at www.encorpinc.com or cail us toll free at 1-800-330-9767. A Beverage Container Return System. +800-330-9767 www.encorpinc.com