As many of us know all too personally, Alzheimer’s isn’t funny, but a play about the dynamics around the disease can be.
This spring, Squamish’s Between Shifts Theatre Society will present The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble, written by Canadian playwright Beth Graham.
Graham, who was born in Nova Scotia and grew up in Alberta, is best know as being one of the writers behind the award-winning play The Drowning Girls, which toured nationally.
The Gravitational Pull of Bernice Trimble focuses on Iris Trimble as she tries to come to grips with the realities of her mother Bernice’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
“I think it is timely. I think we are all aware our population is aging and people are living longer and longer and some of the things that are affected by age really come into play,” said Janice Carroll, who is co-directing the performance with Michael K. Hewitt.
“In the past, people have stayed silent about some of these issues, especially around Alzheimer’s, dementia and mental health.”
As the play opens, Bernice has called a family meeting to reveal some news, but only middle-child Iris is left with the real family secret.
But the play is also about kitchen dynamics and making casseroles.
Playwright Graham does a good job of balancing the serious with the laugh-out-loud funny, said Carroll.
“You don’t watch this play and from beginning to end go, ‘God, this is so daunting and horrible,’” Carroll said. “It has those typical family interactions, which are always funny.”
The Squamish cast includes Carla Fuhre as Bernice; Sara Marrocco as Iris; Claire Lindsay as Sarah and Todd Weitzel as Peter.
The play runs April 6/7 and 11 to 14.
Tickets are already available at betweenshiftstheatre.com.
