One of the things I love about theatre is the examination of life and the world around us it provides – and the universality of personal experience.
This past Friday/weekend, I had the pleasure of seeing two thoughtful and entertaining pieces of theatre (one of them twice, as I covered both opening night and the talkback matinée of the Alumnae production): GuineaPigging by Catherine Frid (Alumnae Theatre Company) and The Time of Your Life by William Saroyan (Soulpepper).
For my take on GuineaPigging, please see the posts from Saturday and today on the Alumnae blog: www.alumnaetheatre.wordpress.com GuineaPigging runs on the Alumnae main stage until Sat, April 30.
As for The Time of Your Life, here’s the first couple of lines of playwright Saroyan’s prologue: In the time of your life, live – so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death for yourself or for any life your life touches. Seek goodness everywhere, and when it is found, bring it out of its hiding- place and let it be free and unashamed.
Wow. I wish I’d written that. Written and set in 1939, the play’s portrait of social change, hard times and the human response to life’s challenges are still so relevant to today. And Joe, the central character played with love, strength and vulnerability by Joseph Ziegler, is the play’s agent of goodness.
An excellent – not to mention large – ensemble cast, with stand-out performances from Ziegler, as well as Derek Boyes, Kevin Bundy, Stuart Hughes and Karen Rae. A honky tonk microcosm of humanity, with the audience watching as life passes through and Joe works to make amends for his ill-gotten gains by doing good with his time and his money.
This was a truly inspirational piece of theatre. Check www.soulpepper.ca for dates and details.
life with more cowbell 
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