By David F. Rooney
If you’re a wife and mom you won’t want to miss the Revelstoke Theatre Company’s one-act play, Louder, I Can’t Hear You, directed by Imogene Whale.
This short, roughly 30-minute playlet by William Gleason explores the failures of human communication via Marge, a long-suffering mother and spouse whose trials and tribulations will seem very, very familiar to every experienced local mom.
Played by Lorelei Laflar, Marge is a veritable Everywoman devoted to fulfilling the oh-so-familiar wishes of daughters June (Madeleine Hobgood) and Ann (Izabelle Broere) and hubby Oscar (JP Lord).
It sounds like it could be an idyllic family sitcom but this average family was spawned by someone’s nightmare. The kids are whiny and self-centered, hubby’s a complaining slob and poor Mom is at her wit’s end… perhaps even beyond as she discovers that the psychiatrist (Ana Pollo) she wants to see is as deaf to her fears as everyone else.
How does it all play out? Well, Mom, you’ll just have to come see Louder, I Can’t Hear You.
There’s a second play on offer, too: Boys’ Play. However, where Louder, I Can’t Hear You is kind of loveably loony, Boys’ Play is dark, intense and thought-provoking.
This 45-minute, one-act play features Colby Morin and Benjamin Menzies as teenaged boys who set out for a secluded lakeshore to drink alcohol and, as boys often do, test each other and shoot the shit… or so it seems.
The dialogue in this play is realistic so be prepared for some potty-mouth chit chat and the subject matter is, ultimately, very challenging. I don’t dare say much more than that because I don’t want to play the spoiler.
But I can say that I found Boys’ Play to be completely engrossing.
Dark and troubling though this play, written by Jack Heifner and directed by Martin Ralph, may be it is certainly worth seeing.
These plays are being performed at the United Church on December 3, 4 and 6. The doors open at 7 pm and Louder, I Can’t Hear You begins at 7:30 pm followed by Boys’ Play. Admission is by donation to Community Connections Food Bank so please give generously.
Her are two other images from these plays:
