A classic play with an Annapolis Valley twist
Peterborough writer discovers enjoys theatre in Nova Scotia
When you live on Nova Scotia’s ‘South Shore’ as we do, “The Valley” is a special place to visit. A trip to the Annapolis Valley is a delight for many reasons. It takes about an hour and a half by car through the mostly-uninhabited interior of the province.
As most people know, the Annapolis Valley is one of Canada’s most fertile environments. Its summer comes far more productively than on the South Shore. We always come back with bags of fruit and vegetables. As well, economic development is notably more advanced along the Fundy shore. Finally, the weather can be warmer, sunnier and less foggy; on occasion, we have met people who have opted to leave the South Shore to live in the Valley. Of course, the Bay of Fundy is rightly famous for the highest tides in the world. A welltimed lobster lunch at Hall’s Harbour is an ideal way to witness the drama of that extraordinary rise and fall.
We tend to focus our visits on the Kentville-Wolfville area, which includes places like Port William, Grand Pre and the Minas Basin. Beyond the many farmers’ markets, there are plenty of restaurants and pubs to try out. As well there are close to twenty wineries in the vicinity, most of which specialize in a popular blend of whites called Tidal Bay. On our recent foray we visited the Gaspereau Winery near Wolfville and came away not only with several bottles of white but also with some splendid blueberry honey, which we are currently enjoying.
But the main reason for our July visit was to attend an outdoor play put on by a small Nova Scotia theatre company called Two Planks and a Passion. It is located at the Ross Creek Centre for the Arts near the town of Canning on the North Mountain. The theatre has outdoor seating for about 120 on metal risers that, for elderly crowd members, proved difficult to manage since they don’t have railings. Nevertheless, I was readily reminded of Millbrook’s 4th Line Theatre, which is a larger operation both in terms of seating and advertising. Two Planks also likes to put on plays with a Nova Scotia flavour. The joys and hazards of outdoor theatre were very much before us as we settled in to watch our play. We brought cushions for the seating and rain gear because clouds were gathering on the mountain side.
The production we had chosen was one of three being performed this season. It was called North Mountain Vanya, its title promising an Annapolis Valley ‘take’ of Chekhov’s darkly Russian family saga, “Uncle Vanya” (1898). It was difficult to catch much of that Nova Scotia flavour of Ken Schwartz’s Annapolis adaptation, but the play was overall quite successful in bringing alive Chekhov’s Russia and his unhappy set of characters. Two Planks other productions this summer are a musical adaptation of George Orwell’s Animal Farm called Animal Farm by Fire) and the premiere of Elapulitiek by Fire (We Are Looking Towards) by Sandra Joudry. The final play is slated for August and September. “By fire” apparently means a production staged around an actual fire-pit.
Uncle Vanya is one of Chekhov’s most durable and popular plays. Originally entitled The Wood Demon, he rewrote it in part to reduce the number of characters involved. Schwartz has taken matters further reducing the number of actors to eight and finding various ways to hasten along the action. As the play calls for a garden setting at the Serebrakov estate, the outdoors setting was perfect for the action. Movements on and off stage were readily facilitated by two paths into the woods behind the grassy stage. The transition to indoor scenes involved only the use of chairs and tables on the grass for the serving of tea and vodka and the quiet presence of the mother who sat and read a novel while the action swirled around her.
The story revolves around the vexed relationship between Ivan (Uncle Vanya) and his brother-inlaw Alexander Serebrakov. Alexander has led a socially prominent life as a Professor in Moscow and is regarded as the darling of the family, the one for whom all things are done. He is often called “Your Excellency” by those lesser beings who serve him. Vanya and Alexander’s daughter Sonia run the farm and make sure that most of its profits are made available for the professor’s needs.
It would appear, however, that Alexander’s life is less productive and less worthy than he makes out. Vanya sees him increasingly as a fraudulent and ungrateful leech who swans about making much of his illnesses and his attractive second wife Helena. She too dotes on him, though unhappily. As the action develops, the conflict between Vanya and the Professor simmers toward violence, in part because of Vanya’s personal frustrations and his own love for Helena whom he has known for a decade. She, however, refuses to listen to his entreaties.
Chekhov’s world is dark and unfulfilled. No one is satisfied or happy with what he or she is able to do. Russia seems to close in on them. Vanya’s close friend, Dr. Astrov, is another character who feels he is wasting his life as a rural doctor. By contrast, he devotes much if his time to a campaign to save the Russian forests from the axe while he preaches ecology to the country folk. However, he too falls for the beautiful Helena. Meanwhile, he ignore the Professor’s daughter Sonia who loves him.
When a gunshot is heard offstage, the action quickens. Vanya in fact takes two shots at Alexander following his proposal that the family should sell the farm and use the money to create an income for him and Helena. Vanya misses both shots, but stirs things up considerably. In due course the action winds down when the Professor and Helena leave the estate, followed by Astrov. Sonia, Vanya and the old mother remain along with their loyal servants. Vanya speculates that while he is 47 years old, he has only 13 more years to live. To see a man of talent and moral worth envisioning himself dead at 60 hits sympathetic audience members hard.
During the first half of the play an impending storm is mentioned several times in the script. While we sat on the risers, the clouds above us were indeed thickening. Hence, we were not surprised when just as the intermission began, the skies opened up. The audience donned ponchos and dashed under a nearby tent. Happily, however, the downpour lasted only about 20 minutes. Then, after the cast and crew hurriedly dried the set and the seats, the second act began. I was reminded of a similar stormy experience I had at the 4th Line Theatre just as a production of a play called “Welcome Death” drew to a close.
Outdoor theatre has its charms and its perils. Though several slow-moving members of our party got a bit wet during the actual storm, we saw the gathering storm of Uncle Vanya through to its end and were moved by the experience. To see serious theatre well-acted and deftly presented in such a remote and unlikely location is a testimony to Canada’s immense cultural richness.