Foster strikes theatre gold again with Jonas & Barry
Curmudgeon blossoms in retirement with odd friendship of debonair new pal
ST. JACOBS — Prolific Canadian playwright Norm Foster has long been known for his witty writing as well as his ability to strike a chord with everyone in the audience.
His jokes are funny, but there is always a deeper meaning to every punch line. It’s like holding up a mirror and having everyone in the audience gaze at their own inner workings.
On Thursday, Foster’s latest work “Jonas & Barry in the Home” opened at St. Jacobs Country Playhouse. And this time the author is one of the three actors in the tight, ensemble cast.
The 68-year-old Foster has written 55 plays to date, beloved favourites such as the “Ladies Foursome,” “The “Love List” and “The Melville Boys,” This new play is classic Foster, with plenty of plot twists, humour and emotion. And yes, the humour gets a little racy and sometimes downright outrageous, which makes it all the funnier without being offensive.
The storyline follows two 60ish men who meet in a posh retirement residence, which is more resort than seniors’ home. Retired dentist Barry, played by David Nairn, is only there because his daughter Rosie, played by Erin MacKinnon in her Drayton debut, runs the recreation program and enjoys a staff discount. It was her idea Barry move to the home, given his family history of fatal heart attacks.
Barry is not thrilled with the arrangement, but agrees partly to be closer to his daughter. Barry, it seems, was a naughty boy a few years earlier when he had a short-term affair with a patient. It was enough to destroy his marriage and create bitterness with Rosie, but she is trying to reconnect with her sullen, moody father.
Barry insists he has not given up on life and he does not like the label curmudgeon, though clearly he is one.
Nairn, artistic director of Theatre Orangeville where the play premièred in 2015, understands this play’s emotional depth and is superb in the role. You believe he is remorseful for the affair, but he seems to dismiss everything and everyone around him and no, he’s not interested in finding a new lady friend. At least not until Jonas appears and shakes Barry’s world to its core.
Jonas, played by Foster, is suave and charismatic, a retired actor used to living life fully, unlike his new friend.
It must be great fun to play a character you have written and if it doesn’t work, there is no one to blame but yourself. In this case, Foster is spot on, developing Jonas’s character as a bright spark in a dull world, a man constantly in forward motion with very little concern for limitations due to failing health.
The men meet on the home’s patio, decide they are completely different characters and of course, just have to become best friends. Barry is something of a project for Jonas, as he draws him out of his morose daily routine and reignites a spark.
This is a story about living life to the fullest at any age, under any condition. Jonas has regrets, but unlike Barry he has never let his past muddy the present, or the future. Every day is new, a yet to be explored adventure that he embraces with gusto, particularly with the ladies in the home.
In the middle of this hilarious comic duet is Rosie: sweet, kind and trying to keep her father from finding out about her own personal anguish. MacKinnon is both nuanced and bold in how she tackles the role of a daughter watching her father slowly fade away. At least she thinks he is fading.
Their relationship is about misunderstandings, making assumptions and thinking you know what’s best for someone else.
Beckie Morris’s elegant set design sets a perfect backdrop for this play and Vandy Simpson obviously had fun designing costumes for the debonair Jonas and slovenly Barry.
“Jonas & Barry in the Home” is directed by Derek Ritschel, artistic director of Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Port Dover. The play is certain to become a staple in Canadian theatre.