By Ian Morton
As they approach their 50th birthday, ECHO Players is holding a masterclass in creative teamwork. You’ll want to enrol quickly before word gets out about Mary’s Wedding by Canadian playwright Stephen Massicotte.
It might not take a village to make magic at the Village Theatre but talent aplenty is doing the job in spades with a tale that gets you where your ticker ticks. It’s a beauty.
The story takes place in 1920, the night before a wedding. The bride is played by Qualicum Beach fave Miranda Murphy as Mary. She describes a recurring dream she tries in vain to control: doing her utmost to stop the boy who got away from going away… forever. The boy is played by Courtenay fave — and now one of ours — Nathaniel Johnson!
It’s an 80-minute ode to love during war that passes faster than a cruelly shortened life and you will want your hanky within easy reach while you take your seat in the darkening auditorium.
Kudos to Murphy and Johnson, who weave the dream with a vulnerability that honours the era their characters live in. Their clear-eyed and on-point performances are utterly enchanting
Director Kelly Barnum smartly sidesteps sentimentality, letting her actors discover each other like the innocents they might be.
READ MORE: Mary’s Wedding opens at Village Theatre April 27 in Qualicum Beach
Special mentions must also go to designers Don Punter (set), Kevin Hill-Tout (lighting) and Noah McCallum (sound) for making the barn smell of horse, the night sky shimmer with mist and chlorine gas and the thunder crack like artillery fire. In this dream play each of these artists turn a world of stormy skies into a tender symphony.
ECHO Players should be proud. Come to Mary’s Wedding.
Bring confetti and open hearts. If you do, you’re sure to catch the bouquet.
Performances run through May 14. Tickets are available online at www.echoplayers.ca, by phone at 250-752-3522 and at the Village Theatre box office, open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
— NEWS Staff, submitted
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