The bad news is playwright Douglas Post’s “poetic thriller” Earth and Sky is an overly ambitious production for an amateur theatre company.
The great news is the White Rock Players’ Club has assembled an amateur group in the literal sense only – that the cast and crew volunteer their talents.
Their ability to deliver, however, rivals any professional production to pass through town.
I must admit that the two words describing the genre – poetic thriller – did little to entice me to the Coast Capital Playhouse to see the club’s current run, which ends Saturday.
The cast, however, did.
Having seen the four leads portray a variety of characters over the years (disclosure: I’ve directed three of the four on filmed projects) I wanted to see what they would do with a period piece of film noir as performed on the stage.
But before we get to the three, all involved would likely acknowledge it’s Lori Tych’s show.
Tych – who has tackled lighter fare here and in Vancouver – is on stage nearly every moment, portraying grieving librarian/poet Sara McKeon through a flitter of emotions after and before she learns her new, seemingly perfect, boyfriend is murdered.
We feel Sarah’s horror and guilt, and the varying levels of sadness that would pierce our souls, if we allowed our hearts to be so vulnerable. We see her lust and love and laugh, as well as hurt and hate and be filled with disgust. If this sounds too much to bear, note also that successive scenes jump back and forth in time, as we’re encouraged to sort out the stage play’s creative timeline. (I must admit to an initial suspicion Post borrowed a memento from film director Christopher Nolan’s breakout piece, before learning that Post’s script preceded Nolan’s by more than a decade.)
Likely, all this makes Earth and Sky sound more complicated than it really is. In truth, it is a character study disguised as a romantic whodunnit. But instead of girl meets boy, girl loses boy… it’s a bit of a reversal.
And the timeline patterns emerge organically, with director Dale Kelly’s stylized lighting and stage techniques cueing the audience on a well-crafted journey.
However, the trip is not without its complications. Dialogue is overwritten and somewhat indulgent, in what seems to be an attempt to provide on-the-nose literary commentary on our all-too-human need for greed.
To be fair to the Chicago playright, perhaps audience members who are more well-versed in the work of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas would get more from the onslaught of verbiage. But to be more fair to the audience, a play should trust its actors to convey emotions and plot points, ending dialogue – and perhaps some scenes – early.
Jason Dedrick brings a desperate seriousness to his role as boyfriend David Ames, a struggling restaurateur who seems set on shaking his armour for amour. Ben Odberg offers an intense portrayal of lead detective H.E. Weber, subtly trying to parry and thrust his way through his investigation and, oh-so-hopefully, into Sarah’s bed.
Mike Busswood, as fellow officer Sgt. Al Kersnowski, provides both comic relief and theme, as he spares a moment with our heroine to note one can’t know what’s inside a neighbourhood building from the facade.
Supporting cast includes Kelly regulars Kait Busswood, Aaron Elliott, Colleen Bignell, Andrew LeBlanc, and the director himself, in supporting roles, each character revealing a secret or two by final curtain.