Lonely Diner serves up dread and danger
Vertigo Theatre’s production allows suspense to build in prohibition-era tale
If you head off to see Vertigo Theatre’s production of Beverley Cooper’s The Lonely Diner, don’t expect blood, gore and cheap scares.
Declan O’Reilly, who plays the owner and manager of a lonely Canadian diner, says the thrills in this story of mysterious strangers, illegal booze and exotic dreams come from the suspense and dread the playwright has woven into it.
The play is set during a time when Prohibition has ended in Canada, but not yet in the United States so mob bosses are battling each other for control of the illicit flow of liquor from Ontario to Chicago.
“It’s 1928 and Ron and his wife Lucy (Shawna Burnett) had to convert part of their farmhouse into a diner because their farm has fallen on tough times,” O’Reilly says.
“Lucy yearns for the excitement and glamour of the American cities, but Ron just wants to get their farm working again which causes friction, arguments and tension.”
Into this domestic turmoil comes a stranger who calls himself Mr. Mascarpone (Stafford Perry). He claims his car has broken down, but then Mascarpone’s friend (Curt McKinstry) arrives and things in that diner are no longer benign.
“It’s a great script. Cooper drops clues, allowing the audience to have fun piecing them all together,” says O’Reilly, adding “our director Kelli Fox allows the tension to build by inserting suspenseful pauses that help build a sense of danger.”
O’Reilly says Calgary musician and composer Tim Williams created a score for The Lonely Diner that puts the finishing touch on the escalating menace at the heart of the play.
The Lonely Diner premiered at Ontario’s Blythe Festival in 2012 with Calgary’s Duval Lang originating the role of Ron.
This production marks O’Reilly's debut at Vertigo.
“I had a few previous offers, but there was always a scheduling conflict. This time everything worked out for me and I couldn’t be happier. Like so many people, I really like the thriller genre.”
O’Reilly began his acting career in Calgary in 1991 playing a young Ebenezer Scrooge in Theatre Calgary’s A Christmas Carol.
“In 1995, I decided to move to Toronto, but I eventually quit acting altogether,” says O’Reilly, who returned to Calgary in 2014. He had no intention of returning to acting, but season’s tickets to a couple of theatres made him reconsider.
“I saw a production of John Logan’s Red at Alberta Theatre Projects and it made me want to get back on stage. I wanted to be part of the great talent pool that is now in Calgary. Both Mark Bellamy and Kevin McKendrick encouraged me to audition so I blame them and thank them for my return to theatre.”
His first show after auditioning was Theatre Calgary’s One Man, Two Guvnors, which led to his being cast in TC’s King Lear.
Vertigo Theatre’s The Lonely Diner previews March 10-14 with the official opening on March 15 and then runs until April 8.
Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
Advance tickets are available by calling 403-221-3708 or online at vertigotheatre.com.