Reviewed by James
Karas
The Drawer Boy is a
marvelous play about friendship, love, loss, memory and humorous incidents on a
farm. Nina Lee Aquino directs a fine-tuned production at Theatre Passe Muraille
that captures the humour, the pathos and all the affecting emotions of the
story of two friends as it unfolds.
The story is outwardly very simple. An actor visits a farm to see how
farmers live so he can write a play. Miles (Graham Conway) is a city boy and
the farm that he visits is run by two friends, the no-nonsense Morgan (Andrew
Moodie) and the mild mannered Angus (Craig Lauzon). Angus has problems. He has
no memory and forgets everything that happens. He is subject to serious
headaches and he is able to function because Morgan looks after him only as a
devoted friend would.
Andrew Moodie, Craig Lauzon and Graham Conway. Photo: Michael Cooper
Angus has a facility for numbers and a talent for drawing. He was the
brighter of the two friends and was headed for university but the war came and
they joined the army. They were sent to England where they met two women. They
fell in love with them and Angus drew the plans for two adjoining houses.
The humour of the play comes from the city boy trying to deal with farm
animals and farm machinery. Heaving bales of hay in short pants can be very
painful but that is what Miles does. He tries to drive a tractor and milk some
cows.
Conway as Miles is eager, innocent, confused, bright and ambitious. He
wants to write a play and he keeps scribbling whatever he hears. A finely
nuanced performance.
Craig Lauzon (left), Andrew Moodie and Graham Conway. Photo: Michael Cooper
Lauzon as Angus projects a man who is mentally challenged but who seems
to have many more issues. We sense there is more to Angus than headaches,
making sandwiches and facility with numbers. Again, we get a well-tuned and
sensitive portrayal.
Moodie as Morgan appears to be a tough and efficient farmer but we discover
quickly that he is Angus’s faithful protector. As the story unfolds we get a
fuller picture of the strength and decency of Morgan whose relationship with
Angus rises to the ultimate definition of friendship. All superbly done by
Moodie.
The direction by Nina Lee Aquino is expert, the pace top flight and the
end result outstanding.
Joanna Yu’s set of Angus and Morgan’s farmhouse with emphasis on the
kitchen and the drawings on the wall is highly adept. The drawings, as you may
have inferred, play an important part in the play.
Just go see it for a splendid night at the theatre.
_____
The Drawer Boy by Michael Healy opened on March 6 and will run until March 25, 2018 at
Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Avenue, Toronto, Ontario. www.passemuraille.on.ca (416) 504-7529
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