A CHILD’S VIEW OF POLYGAMY
Actor dazzles in GCTC play Gracie
A solo show is a tough gig, particularly when the part requires the actor to not only portray a lead character at different stages of life, but also take on the supporting roles in the story.
In the case of Gracie, written by B.C. playwright Joan MacLeod, and being staged at the Great Canadian Theatre Company, there’s an added challenge. The script delves into a world so vastly removed from what we perceive as a normal childhood that it’s hard to imagine how a young theatre performer could connect with youngsters growing up in a fundamentalist polygamous community.
Well, Ottawa’s Erica Anderson finds that connection and knocks it out of the park in a marvellous performance, her first on the GCTC stage. A graduate of the National Theatre School and before that, Canterbury High School, Anderson plays Gracie, the sweet little sister who loves her bicycle almost as much as Jesus.
We meet Gracie when she’s eight years old, travelling to Canada in a minivan with her beloved mother, a brother and sisters. They belong to the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and are leaving a polygamous community in Colorado City to live in another polygamous community in British Columbia.
Their mother is to become the umpteenth wife of community elder Mr. Shelby, clearly patterned after Bountiful, B.C.’s real-life Winston Blackmore, convicted of polygamy this year and reported to have 24 wives.
It’s absolutely fascinating to get a peek at the inner workings of the secretive community, as told from a child’s perspective. Gracie likes to help with the younger ones and set the tables for breakfast, 100 children at a time. They go to school, where they learn in “science” class that the sun and moon are powered by the celestial light of Our Heavenly Father. Little girls daydream about babies, while teenagers fret about the deal-making that forces them to have old, fat husbands. The babies keep coming.
In a long-sleeved, ankle-length dress, her blond hair in a braid, Anderson shines as wide-eyed, fresh-faced Gracie, full of wonder at her new home and thrilled to be noticed by Mr. Shelby.
Although the actor’s speech pattern seemed to start out with a vaguely contrived Southern accent on opening night, it became more natural (and less Southern) as the piece progressed. She tripped over a couple of lines, but for one person on a stage for 90 intense minutes, that was a tiny detail. No less impressive was how effortlessly Anderson switched characters, adopting a deep voice and a swagger to portray the men. It was a thoroughly compelling performance from a fine new talent.