The Shawnigan Players’ first show of 2015, directed by Laura Faulkner, is filled with vibrant characters, wicked banter, and big ideas. Smart, honest, and painfully funny, Tom Stoppard's “The Real Thing” is a fearless exploration of love and fidelity played out through the on- and off-stage lives of passionate theatre folk.
=0D=0A=Star playwright Henry falls in love with Annie, a lively and brilliant charismatic actress, only to find his closely-held beliefs about love cast into doubt. With unsought help from his wife, his daughter, his lover, his lover’s lovers, and a convict, Henry must question his intellect and crack open his heart to offer Annie the real thing.
=0D=0A=Alex Gallacher plays Henry, adding to his lengthy list of Shawnigan Players roles (recently Dame Philippa Bucket in the pantomime “Rumplestiltskin”). Annie is portrayed by Elissa Barron, who charmed audiences as Juliet’s zany nurse in 2014’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Hannah Gallacher plays Henry’s brilliant daughter Debbie, a father-daughter first for the Gallachers.
=0D=0A=Rounding out the cast is Lindsay Anderson (co-director “The Wizard of Oz” for Kaatza Lakeside Players), Erin Butler (Shawnigan Players’ “Murder in Green Meadows” and “Glengarry Glen Ross”), rising star Connor Lachmanec (“Romeo and Juliet,” “Rumplestiltskin”), and new Valley transplant Matt Williams. In his first Cowichan role, Williams, DJ at Juice FM, plays the young actor Billy.
=0D=0A=For director Laura Faulkner, the play was love at first sight. “I picked it up, read it, and decided to put it on stage,” she recalls. “Stoppard’s skill with language is dazzling. Each time I read it I find new gems tucked inside – doublings, jokes, questions – like rewards for paying attention. The text is a language lover’s delight.”
=0D=0A=Tickets are available at Ten Old Books in the Duncan Garage building, Mason’s Store in Shawnigan Lake, or by emailing laura.lois.faulkner@gmail.com
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