Shannon McCracken, Jeff Culbert and Matthew Gorman. Photo by Phil Bell, Shutter Studios.
“Buying the Farm”, premiering at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre, is billed as … “A comedy about hope, last stands, skunks, and love among the chickens!”
There are laughs aplenty to be had but the play’s strength is in interspersing the more over the top antics with many moments which will make you smile and some which offer pause for thought.
There are laughs aplenty to be had but the play’s strength is in interspersing the more over the top antics with many moments which will make you smile and some which offer pause for thought.
Matthew Gorman plays Real Estate developer, Brad. His delightfully animated expressions are set against the other two actors' usually more subtle (though not less determined) reactions. Much of the humour derives from the unfamiliarity of a city-boy with farm life. Brad comes prepared to exert lots of pressure on farm owner, Bjorn Magnus (Jeff Culbert) and his great neice Esma (Shannon McCraken). He is a bit goofy and naïve but single-minded. However, he gradually becomes open to possibilities other than that of reaping the land’s money-making potential.
The satisfactions and value of farm and country life are established early on in the play, along with a mood of things moving at a less hectic pace than in the city. Those themes are embodied perfectly by Culbert’s portrayal of Magnus.
The set by Eric Bunnell nicely conveys a farm that is rundown yet homey with many interesting details, like the colourful ceramic chickens hanging just inside the front door.
The characters in “Buying the Farm” all have problems and also creative ways to avoid a head-on approach to solving them. During the course of the play, their interactions lead them to see possibilities and hope. Those emotions are conveyed with feeling, heart and humour, through fine performances by all three actors.
This is the world premiere of “Buying the Farm” by Shelley Hoffman & Stephen Sparks, and is directed by PSFT Aristic Director Simon Joynes. It plays until July 21st at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre, www.psft.ca.
The satisfactions and value of farm and country life are established early on in the play, along with a mood of things moving at a less hectic pace than in the city. Those themes are embodied perfectly by Culbert’s portrayal of Magnus.
The set by Eric Bunnell nicely conveys a farm that is rundown yet homey with many interesting details, like the colourful ceramic chickens hanging just inside the front door.
The characters in “Buying the Farm” all have problems and also creative ways to avoid a head-on approach to solving them. During the course of the play, their interactions lead them to see possibilities and hope. Those emotions are conveyed with feeling, heart and humour, through fine performances by all three actors.
This is the world premiere of “Buying the Farm” by Shelley Hoffman & Stephen Sparks, and is directed by PSFT Aristic Director Simon Joynes. It plays until July 21st at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre, www.psft.ca.
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