"Hilda's Yard" Makes for Hugely Satisfying Entertainment

Photos by Mark Girdauskas

It’s 1956 and Hilda Fluck has spent her life doing everything expected of a good housewife and mother of the 50s. Now, she anticipates having some peace and quiet to enjoy with Mr. Fluck. However, calamity is about to strike. It will bring misfortune to Hilda but two hours of delightful entertainment to the fortunate audiences of "Hilda's Yard".  

Towards the end of the first act, it appears that Mr. Fluck may lose his job, and the children are back for more than a brief visit. Hilda glumly notes, “They took a giant pin and pricked our happiness balloon.” It appears that things couldn’t get any worse. But they can and do – rapidly – as Gary’s ‘bookie’ and ‘bimbo’ make their own entrances over the back fence, Bobbi with a good-natured and boisterous greeting to Hilda, “Are you the mom?!”

As the show begins, Hilda is in a happy place – her well-loved but needy and demanding children have finally left home. Her husband Sam is elated as he prepares to buy their first TV, and although the cost is worrisome, she is glad for him. The Flucks are obviously still in love; daughter Jane is happily married and son Gary who has long “eaten them out of house and home” has at age 33 found a job in the ‘food industry’ and moved out.

It’s easy to visualize a balloon of happiness around Hilda. By the end of the first act, however, the children have returned, over the backyard fence, with serious problems. After hearing about her son’s unbelievable recent misadventures she sums up, “So, you’ve got a bookie named Beverley and a bimbo named Bobbi.”  This rock of a mother loves her children but knows them well enough to dig into their stories with probing questions.

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Elisabeth Lagerlof as Jane (left);David Talbot at Sam Fluck, Ryan Jacobs as Gary

As Act II begins, the stage has been set for the next scenes of rapid dialogue and action. All of the actors deliver performances with great timing, energy and wonderful facial expressions. Motivations and personalities which at first seemed black and white quickly take on a new level of complexity. The characters shift from being people you might not really like to ones who will probably elicit at least a little compassion and understanding. All of them have something surprising to offer as do each of the actors who play them.

Hilda is the family's tower of strength,  supporting them with intelligence, humour and wit (though even she has an interesting crutch to get her through life’s problems). Likewise, Actress Marcia Tratt plays her significant role of holding the entire play together with commendable skill.

Though the second act is peppered with hilarious lines in quick succession, there are a few serious thoughts to ponder–roles of men and women, the phenomenon of adult children returning home, following dreams, surface appearances versus what lies beneath, and the part of child-rearing versus in-born traits. A bewildered Mr. Fluck concludes at one point that his son’s problems must be “all because I didn’t build you a rink.”

Marcia Tratt as Hilda, Alison Smyth as Bobbi (left); Allan Cooke as Beverley, Elisabeth Lagerlof as Jane

Eric Bunnell’s set is perfect, an impeccable back-drop for a “perfect” little 50s family. Simon Joynes, celebrating his 10th year as Artistic Director at the Port Stanley Festival theatre has, as director for “Hilda’s Yard”, polished this Norm Foster gem into a momentum-gathering, hugely satisfying two hours of entertainment.

“Hilda’s Yard” by Norm Foster plays June 10th to July 4th at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre, www.portstanleytheatre.ca, 519-782-4353.