Review: OLD LOVE at HOWICK LITTLE THEATRE

Canada’s leading comic playwright Norm Foster is well known for his adroit insights into the everyday tribulations of life. Deftly directed and well-staged by Tracey Holdsworth, this clever and wonderfully witty play explores those relationships that might be a little messy, courtships that can leave you dizzy, and relationships that capture the vulnerability of those in love. “Beauty is a young woman’s currency.”  “A relationship should just happen.”

We laugh – a lot – because there are just so many sentiments expressed to which we can relate. Foster’s trademark brilliant one-liners are delivered with skill. “I always say what I mean – I have plenty of wonderful thoughts. It would be a shame not to share them.” This is superb entertainment expertly performed with authenticity and flair.

The audience is immediately engaged by the ingenuous sentiments in the opening moments. Somewhat off-kilter but charming and endearing, Bud Mitchell (Mark Bishop) directly addresses the audience and outlines the premise of the narrative that will unfold.

"This is the story of my pursuit of a good woman.  And I don’t mean just any good woman, because I know there are millions of good women out there.  I’m sure there are some here right now.  But, I have a particular woman in mind.  Her name is Molly. I first met Molly twenty-five years ago.  We met only three times, very briefly, over the course of the next three years.  

Online daters immediately connect to the dating scene by which Bud has already been disappointed. He describes to us some of those he’s met – the needy, the drinker, the impossibly shy, the cautious, the overly virtuous (all capably demonstrated by Anna Baird) . The ubiquitous coffee date resonates with many when Molly orders her coffee in a takeaway cup because “there’s a chance this date might end before I have finished my coffee.”

The awkward reconnection at Arthur Graham’s funeral (in Toronto, in the present 2005) points clearly that smitten Bud has never forgotten the Molly of their earlier decades. The plot is superbly structured as an episodic set of flashbacks covering three decades and half a dozen meetings between Bud (Mark Bishop)  and Molly Graham (Anna Baird), his boss's wife. Exceptional work from these two expert and experienced actors who own the stage when they are on it. They certainly know how to captivate and hold an audience even when not speaking – their every minute facial expression, their eyes, their gestures, every nuance in their poise and posture simultaneously enhancing and echoing the dialogue of their younger selves.

The mature versions of Bud and Molly operate as “onlookers” recreating the scenes for us, similar to a Greek chorus narrating and commenting on the action and expressing their remembered emotions. The creative multilevelled set design (Tim Skinner)  works well to present this aspect with ease.

Socially awkward and already married Bud is smitten with Molly from the very first meeting at a work Christmas Party in the 1980s. Each subsequent time they meet, Molly (ironically) never has any recollection of meeting him before!  Remarkable performance from Henry Warner who is more than credible in three contrasting roles – the younger version of gauche and uneasy Bud, the “playboy” husband and outspoken narcistic boss Arthur Graham, and later Arthur Graham Jnr, clearly dominated by Kendra his wife. Superb accent and modulation craft the range of credible characterisation.

Equally brilliant and totally believable is Amy Cotter, who deftly changes from ambitious pretty wife Kitty (“for a woman to have a cutsie name is quite acceptable”) to the younger embittered inebriated Molly, who drinks to cover her sadness and boredom (“I became an environmentalist. I began recycling vodka bottles”), and the dominating wife, Kendra. Her harsh words “As people get older, their eyes go, their hearing goes, and their judgement goes” hit the eavesdropping Molly hard. The speed in which the wardrobe (Jenny Connors)changes are made to realise the various character changes is a triumph.

Lighting (Nigel Windsor) plays a delightful role in the final scene of the play. Here charming twists in the action reinforce the need to “just let go and take chances”;  to “not worry about how it looks”; to embrace every possibility in life.  As the programme says, we too have had the chance to embark on a “witty and heart-warming journey which celebrates the never-ending pursuit of love – old and new”.

Find time even in a busy schedule to see this play – it is full of laughs, is fun and heartwarming entertainment expertly performed with authenticity and flair. 

The play runs until 2 December, 2023.

Tickets at the link below or phone 09 361 1000

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