Anyone who's lived with women, be it sisters, mothers, wives or others, knows the power of their relationships.
TheatreOne is exploring those with their latest production If We Are Women, playing at the Port Theatre
The plays is the story of three generations of women and how each generation affects the next, whether it's intentional or not, said director Burton Lancaster.
The play focuses on Jessica, a single mother and a writer, her mother an illiterate woman from Saskatchewan, her mother-in-law and her rebellious teenage daughter. Jessica is also dealing with the death of her partner and has baggage from her past she has to deal with. While the play is quite serious, it does have funny moments, Lancaster said.
"It is kind of heavy but it is also quite funny," he said.
Lancaster said the play shows an understanding of relationships.
"We're all different but in many aspects we're also all the same," he said, adding the power of love is also a main emotion in the play.
Hilary Strang, who plays Jessica, said her character is in deep mourning. She has her hands full with her daughter and her loss and is also dealing with her mother-in-law and mother.
"She's just coping as best as she can," Strang said of Jessica. "What these women really want to talk about is their relationships, with each other as well as their own relationships with their mothers, their husbands, their vision of themselves and the world. This play is totally about loss."
Strang, who lives in Vancouver, last worked with TheatreOne about 16 years ago. The challenging role was one that spoke to her, she said. Strang has a teenage daughter named Molly who has just moved away from home. In the play her daughter's name is Polly and she's about to leave home.
"There are so many parallels between my life and hers in a way," she said, laughing. "It was just bizarre."
Twenty-six-year-old Samantha Currie stepped into the teenage shoes of Polly, the rebellious daughter. Currie said it was an interesting challenge playing the role. It's nice to have the knowledge to look back and play someone so young, she said.
"It's nice to remember what it is to be a teenager," she said, adding Polly is quite a bit more defiant than she was growing up. "It's kind of fun to play out, step up and have this 'I know it all' attitude."
Currie who plays a lot of children's roles with Chemainus Theatre and others, says it was nice to step into a more grown up, dramatic production.
"It was nice to delve into a little bit more serious, darker stuff," she said. "It was challenging, that's my word this year taking projects that are out of my comfort zone."
Artist Sheila Norgate will be exhibiting her mixed-media exhibit Dangerous Curves and Other Figure Mishaps: Life in the Female Body at The Port Theatre April 26 to 30, during the production.
For more information or tickets call the Port Theatre ticket centre at 754-8550, Monday to Friday: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday: noon to 5 p.m. For a full list of events check out www.porttheatre.com
- The Daily News has two tickets to give away for April 27's performance of If We Are Women. Be the first caller to 729-4231 at 9:30 a.m. to receive the pair.