I don't know how to thank Sue Murguly properly for her production of Michael Frayn's brilliant play,
Copenhagen, at the Prince George Playhouse March 9 to March 28, 2006. I will have to settle for telling her and and her accomplished cast that I have never seen a local production of a more difficult and important play executed as professionally as her
Copenhagen. The last one I saw in Prince George that made a comparable impact on me was Michael Armstrong's original, two-person production of his play
In Their Nightgowns, Dancing, and for some of the same reasons. Both plays use language and a complex interplay of time and perspective to get at concerns as profound as the atrocities of war, and as personal as a friendship. In talking with Sue Murguly, during the run, I discovered that she offered
Copenhagen in the full knowledge that it would not be a box office hit. No matter how well staged, the play is demanding and its subject matter threatening. Not once, but through a multiplicity of possible realities, we see how the decisions of a few individuals could make the world end, and for reasons even they can never clarify entirely although they are the most intelligent -- if not the wisest -- of men. We seem to be in the mood for ligher fare. Ironically, the more densely packed the action and violence in our entertainment, the less able we seem to take it seriously as a threat to civilization as we know it, and perhaps even to life on Earth. It is almost as if the game-player who blows up worlds a dozen times a game is innoculating himself against the terror of the real thing by making it surreal. If so, we need more producer-directors like Sue Murguly to bring us down to Earth. If only we could get more people into theatres to see plays like hers.
Rachel's adventures evading the wicked Lilah and her people-shrinking mother, engaged me and my eleven year old daughter, Tegan, for many pleasant nights of bedtime reading. We had a bit of a hard time believing in the scale of things (literally), in a climactic scene but that, itself, was cause for discussion, and the emotions all worked even if the physical proportions were dubious. This is a book you can laugh out loud with as you read, and shed a tear over as well for the sake of the heroine's sorrows. I stress the shared enjoyment factor because R. Patrick's book has plenty of punch and quick developments that are ideal for a chapter-a-night affair. I recommend it to all mothers and other adults looking for a good read to share with the reluctant (or voracious) reader in their lives, and for all those who are young at heart whatever the number of candles on their cake, next birthday. My daughter and I particularly enjoyed the astonishing transformations, the sparkling imagery and the humorous dialogue. Tegan's favourites were the colourful supporting cast of characters, who each had their own unique voice, quirks and personal growth challenge to overcome. We also have a new family saying, delivered in an over-the-top Italian accent: "The size of a chilli pepper!"