inCommunicado - eric eggertson

We got back to the house at 1:30 this morning from our road trip to Meacham to see James O’Shea’s The Red Truck.

For a play about rural Saskatchewan, the setting is just right. Dancing Sky Theatre operates out of a converted community hall in the village of Meacham, east of Saskatoon. There is room for just over 100 seats, plus a restaurant where you can get a meal before the show.

The silences and pauses are the best part of the play. As funny as many of the lines are, the unspoken disagreement between the farmer and his son say more about their relationship.

O’Shea puts a new twist on the story of passing on the family farm to a new generation. In this case,  the father wants his son to escape the financial burden of keeping a farm running, but the son prefers farming to anything else he’s tried.

Of the staged readings, productions and broadcasts I’ve come across on this subject, most are way too earnest or melodramatic. Nice to see a professional cast breathe life into a good script.

O’Shea’s first play Dogbarked started at Dancing Sky and progressed to the Prairie Theatre Exchange and the Globe Theatre. That’s precisely what a theatre like Dancing Sky is supposed to do: allow Canadian plays to prove there are stories written here that can make good theatre.

The Red Truck, by James O’Shea, directed by Angus Ferguson. Patricia Drake, Tom O’Hara and Rob Roy.  Music by Ernie Kurz, lighting design by Denise Hansen.

See also:  For Love, not Money, Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, Dogbarked, Dogbarked Study Guide (PDF).

Tags: james o’shea, dancing sky theatre, meacham saskatchewan, the red truck, drama, plays, prairie, playwright