August: What Revelation?

Written for the New West

Friday, February 15th saw the English language premiere of August, an Afternoon in the Country. Monique and André—recently engaged—spend an afternoon on the family farm to celebrate their engagement. With four generations present and the sweltering sun beating down, the audience is privy to the inside story of one family trying to hold it all together.

Very early on in the writing of this play, Jean Marc Dalpé chose to keep it simple. And that he did. This 80-minute play is cute and witty, but if you are expecting a side-splitting comedy with an ending that you don’t see coming, you may be out of luck. Unfortunately, the climax is not “shocking or unpredictable” and it doesn’t force the audience to “re-evaluate everything they’ve just seen,” as was billed.

What I did enjoy, however, was the play’s universally relatable themes. Who doesn’t or didn’t have a curmudgeonly old grandparent, a drama-queen younger sister, a doting mother, a hapless father? Who isn’t driven temporarily insane from time to time by their relatives? Who doesn’t find a family meal potentially excruciating?

Arielle Rombough, who plays feisty nineteen-year old Josée, was drawn to the script because of its sense of community and family struggles. It is her second production with ATP, but her first time being involved with playRites. She had a lot of fun with her character and liked trying to be the centre of attention.

Clearly, the scene-stealer was Joyce Doolittle, who plays ornery grandmother, Paulette. Whether she be torturing poor André with her sense of humour, lending an ear to Monique, listening to her music, smoking or dozing, there is always something to watch when she is on stage.

In fact, all the performances are solid. As in real life, there are often several simultaneous conversations going on, which definitely keeps the audience’s interest engaged; however this talented cast seemed to be underutilized. The plot is predictable and the shocking left field event never happens.

The crux of the play seems to appear during a conversation between Monique and Paulette, but it is left to dangle unresolved amidst the stifling heat. Later, during the play’s climax, you expect Monique to stand up for herself against her fiancé André, but alas, she doesn’t. The resolution seems elusive and unsatisfying. The audience isn’t given enough opportunity to make a connection with Louise, so no one cares about what happens to her in the end.

Vicki Stroich, a dramaturge with Alberta Theatre Projects, says that August embodies the spirit of the playRites Festival, which has always tried to encompass different voices from different parts of the country. She says that August contains “strong, mature storytelling with a great heart. It is also important because it provides an opportunity to introduce English audiences to French-Canadian Screenwriting.”

So make a night of it: take your sweetheart to the Laurier Lounge for a little steak-frites, order a bottle of wine from a vignoble in Quebec, see the play and be glad that you’re not with your entire extended family.