Waterfront Theatre

Marjorie Prime 
By Jordan Harrison 
Directed by Shelby Bushell 
Vancouver, BC. Wow. I thought I was coming to view a sci-fi play about an elderly widow interacting with an avatar of her deceased husband but what I experienced was a multi-layered exploration of myriad nuances of  human- relationships. Husband and wife, mother and daughter, lives lived together yet through the filters of time and constructed memories  remembered more as parallel than intertwined. 

Vancouver, BC: Saturday, December 1st, was not shaping up to be one of my favorite days. Despite driving in Vancouver for many more years than I drove in Cape Town I still don�t feel comfortable taking my precious little Audi out in snow. I had a ticket to Seussical on Granville Island for the evening so my chionophobic anxiety was high. Drive and risk my car sliding all over the icy roads, or walk to the Aquabus at Hornby, and risk me slipping on icy pavements: good bye dancing!

In her play, The Stone Face, that premiered last night at The Waterfront, local playwright Sherry MacDonald skillfully manages to pay homage to Buster Keaton and Samuel Beckett while jibing at subjects as diverse as theatre of the absurd, Abbott and Costello and academic literary theory. As one who admires the dedication of the many writers who toil in solitude, writing and polishing books which don't get published or plays that don't get produced, it's a real pleasure for me to see The Stone Face brought to life on stage.I saw a much earlier version at the Playwrights Theatre Centre New Play Festival in May 2004 and it is interesting to see the evolution from previous draft to final production.