A teenage boy’s arrest on a SkyTrain platform is the catalyst for this topical story about closing personal divides and the contradictory attempts to balance care and public safety.
“The play resides on the same turf as most of my work,” says the playwright, Joan MacLeod. “ It looks at an issue through the lens of family—or in the case of The Valley, two families—and tries to figure out what makes these families, and all of us, connected.”
The Valley is an ensemble piece featuring four characters: Connor (Daniel Doheny), who has recently dropped out of college; his mother, Sharon (Kerry Sandomirsky), who is struggling with her son’s recent behaviour; Dan(Robert Salvador), the police officer involved in the SkyTrain incident; and Dan’s wife, Janie (Pippa Mackie), whose own state is driving a wedge through their relationship. The stories and families intertwine, as the characters struggle to stay connected despite the internal strife that threatens to separate them.
Director Mindy Parfitt adds, “The Valley is about people trying to find each other. Reaching across divides. We have created a design that allows for fluidity between time and space. The urban, pared-back set supports the quick rhythm of the play and accentuates the intimacy of the scenes.”
A prolific Victoria-based playwright adept at writing delicate, character-driven stories, Joan MacLeod was awarded Canada’s Governor General’s Award in Drama for Amigo’s Blue Guitar (1990), and she received Jessie Richardson and Betty Mitchell Awards for her highly regarded play The Shape of a Girl (2001).
Arts Club audiences last saw Mindy Parfitt’s directorial work in 2013’sArmstrong’s War. She has extensive experience directing Canadian plays through Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, a theatre company that she co-founded and where she currently serves as co-Artistic Director. Parfitt’s select directing credits include Judith Thompson’s Palace of the End (Jessie Richardson Award for Outstanding Direction), Daniel MacIvor’s You Are Here, and, most recently, This Stays in the Room.
Starring Daniel Doheny (Connor), Pippa Mackie (Janie), Robert Salvador (Dan), Kerry Sandomirsky (Sharon). Director Mindy Parfitt Set Designer Amir Ofek Costume Designer Barbara Clayden Lighting Designer Itai Erdal Sound Designer Owen Belton Projection Designer Jamie Nesbitt Stage Manager Pamela Jakobs Assistant Stage Manager April Starr Land
IN BRIEF Arts Club Theatre Company’s The Valley at the Granville Island Stage (1585 Johnston Street) from April 7 to May 7, 2016. Monday–Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday & Saturday at 8pm, Wednesday at 1:30 pm, and Saturday at 2 pm. Tickets start at $29, inclusive of taxes and fees. Call the Arts Club Box Office at 604.687.1644 or visit www.artsclub.com.
