Tuesdays and Sundays
Inspired by a true story from 19th century Prince Edward Island, this is a moody, spare and effective piece about two dreamy young lovers who find themselves some of the dark realities of adulthood,their lives altered and out of control.
Written by Alberta playwrights Daniel Arnold and Medina Hahn, who also performed it on the Fringe circuit last summer, the play has been given a strong new production for the Ottawa festival by director Jolynn Summervill and actors John Anthony Nabben and Nancy Kenny.
Nabben and Kenny give nicely understated performances as William and Mary, who meet at a party one night and start dating. The play traces what happens after Mary becomes pregnant and William, worried about the reaction of his family, tries to abandon her.
The playwrights develop the story with an admirable directness, and they build an increasing sense of dread, even if we can sense where things are headed. The ending feels abrupt but this is a strong piece, and the performances (Nabben and Kenny are both drama students at the University of Ottawa) are several notches above what you would find at Fringe productions.
At University of Ottawa Alumni Theatre (Unicentre). Today, 8:30 p.m.; Wednesday, 5p.m.; Thursday, 10 p.m.
- Steven Mazey