Meredith Hunter, left, and Kate O'Sullivan in Lunenburg at Harbour Theatre.
A mix of mystery, comedy and romance is coming to Harbour Theatre. Written by Canada's Norm Foster,
Lunenburg is the story of a woman who, after her husband dies unexpectedly, discovers he owned a home in Nova Scotia she didn't know existed.
As she leaves Maine to unravel the mystery of her husband's secret life in the town of Lunenburg, her best friend becomes romantically involved with the next-door neighbour. What follows is a tale of grief, secrets and acceptance – and a lot of flirtation!
Lunenburg features Dr Jarrod Buttery, left, as Charlie, Meredith Hunter as Natalie and Kate O'Sullivan as Iris.
Foster is considered Canada's most produced playwright, known for his humour and insight into the trials and tribulations of everyday life, and is frequently compared to US playwright Neil Simon.
Harbour Theatre president Dr Jarrod Buttery is one of three actors bringing the play to life, along with Meredith Hunter and Kate O'Sullivan. "
Nobody has ever heard of Lunenburg!" he admits. "
We certainly hadn't until we read the script.
Where is Lunenburg?
"Our main challenge is having to dispel blank faces with some elaboration. Lunenburg is a harbour town in Nova Scotia, about 100km southwest of Halifax, and home to Canada's most famous boat – the Bluenose, nicknamed 'The Queen of the North Atlantic'."
Involved in theatre for more than 30 years, Jarrod was one of the founding members of Blak Yak Theatre and has performed in a plethora of productions with Melville, Roleystone, Garrick, Limelight, Playlovers, KADS, Old Mill, Kwinana and Harbour Theatres. He directed the first Terry Pratchett play to be staged in Australia and was named best director at the 2004 South West Drama Festival for his production of Heide's Last Hit.
Flirtation comes to the fore between Charlie (Dr Jarrod Buttery, left) and Natalie (Meredith Hunter) in Lunenburg.
Over the past seven years, Jarrod has appeared in 10 plays with Harbour Theatre, including Norm Foster's
The Love List and
On A First Name Basis and has directed a sold-out season of
The Ladies Foursome (also by Norm Foster) and
Picasso's Women.
"After an extraordinarily successful period of staging The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband in a variety of Perth, country and interstate venues, my fellow actors and I started looking for another three-hander play to sink our teeth into," he said. "I have been involved with three previous plays written by Norm Foster and, when we browsed his script catalogue, we fell in love with Lunenburg. "It's extremely well-written, intelligent, funny and filled with heart."
Lunenburg playwright Norm Foster.
Playwright Norm Foster says on his website: "
I find it far more satisfying if I can make an audience laugh and feel a little heartache within the same story. The farces are a lot of fun to write but it's the stories that touch an audience's heart as well as its funnybone that are the most rewarding."Acting is great fun but writing is my first love. A lot of people out there like the 'idea' of being a writer. The romance of it. The notion that we all sit around in cafes and talk about our writing with other writers. Personally, I would rather do it than talk about it. The actual process of writing is what excites me. Creating a world from the ground up and populating it with characters I've pulled out of my head.
Iris (Kate O'Sullivan) finds out more about her dead husband's other life in his diary.
When asked to try and pin down a common theme that runs through his plays, 74-year-old Foster ruminates: "
I think for the most part, they're about ordinary people just trying to get by in life. I never set out with a monumental purpose in mind. I'm not trying to teach an audience a lesson or pass along some profound message, because I don't think I'm qualified. What I am trying to do is make them feel a little better about this world, and that's not easy these days."
In interviews with a variety of other outlets, Foster was also generous with his thoughts:
kawarthanow.com – "I like to start with a stock character," he explains. "But then I start to turn them around, take a left turn somewhere and bring them somewhere else, and that surprises the audience. I think that keeps the audience interested. Most of the characters are people I grew up with or were around. People will go to my plays and they'll see themselves on stage, or they might see a friend they know. That's really the key."
Natalie (Meredith Hunter) takes time out for sipping and sketching in Lunenburg.
Broadway World: "The thing that really motivates me is the love of the writing process itself. I can't wait to sit down at my computer each morning and find out what's going to happen. Sometimes it seems like my plays write themselves, and I'm just along for the ride."
HuffPost: "My first priority when writing a play is to tell a good story, and then I try and populate that story with characters that the audience can identify with. I am from a blue collar background. I don't like pretentiousness and I'm not precious about my work or about the craft of writing. I don't pretend to be writing 'important' plays or 'ground-breaking' plays. I'm just trying to write 'good' plays. They are not always one and the same."
lunenburg7: Natalie (Meredith Hunter, left) and Iris (Kate O'Sullivan) find grief, secrets and acceptance in Lunenburg.
Toronto Star: "
When I was first starting out, I thought maybe I was not as good or valuable as other writers," Foster says. "It's the old cliché of comedy not getting its due. [But I'm] satisfied with the level I've reached."
The Hamilton Spectator: "
When I write plays that have a blend of comedy and drama, I limit the comedy. It's so easy to make a cheap laugh out of the drama and I avoid this at all costs."
Lunenburg plays at 7.30pm March 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 22, 24 and 25 with 2pm matinees March 12, 19 and 26. Tickets are $25.50, $23.50 concession and $20.50 students – book at
www.TAZTix.com.au or call TAZTix on 9255 3336. Harbour Theatre is located at 16 Lochee Street, Mosman Park.
