Review: Kanata Theatre's Production of HAVING RELATIONS

Kanata Theatre's production of Having Relations began performances this week at the Ron Maslin Playhouse. The play was written by the British-born Sarah Quick, an actor and playwright, living in Bobcaygeon, Ontario, where she is Artistic Director of Globus Theatre. Quick's plays are generally lighthearted comedies, and Having Relations is no exception.

It's 2010 in Small Town, Ontario, and the opening scene presents Declan O'Doyle (Braydon Hall), a single male in his late thirties, sitting on his bed in his boxers, pouring over his laptop. Declan still lives with his mom and has recently upgraded his Internet, allowing him to pursue his deepest passion online. You see, Declan is obsessed with having relations. No, no, no, it's not that kind of play! Let me rephrase: Declan is obsessed with having blood relatives. Declan, if you hadn't already guessed, is of Irish descent; he wants to find out more about his relatives and their journey to Canada several generations ago.

His mother, Cheryl (Kathleen Walsh), is surprisingly unsupportive, reminding him that he is Canadian by birth and should be proud of that fact. Nonplussed, Declan surfs the Internet to discover more about his heritage and, along the way, he communicates with Vicki MacCarthy (Katie Torresan in her Kanata Theatre debut), an Irish woman living in County Cork, who is assisting the County Council with developing a history website for descendants of those who left Ireland during the famine. A devotee of country music (simply appalling to her Irish friends), Vicki dreams about moving stateside and marrying a cowboy. The story continues down its inevitable romantic path from there.

The play is written much like a romantic comedy that you would see in a traditional film format, with effortless back and forth banter, plenty of double-entendres, and some witty one-liners thrown in for good measure. With only three actors, chemistry is a must and there is no shortage of it here, especially between Hall and Torresan. Torresan and Walsh (in a dual role as Vicki's mother) have the additional challenge of speaking with an Irish accent, but they both perform admirably well.

Despite such a small cast, there is a huge production team behind the scenes. The set design (Heidi Roberts) is cozy, with a split stage representing two living spaces in two different countries. This separation of locations is enhanced with lighting (Don Douglas) so that, when something is happening exclusively on one side of the pond, the other side is encased in darkness. This works really well and helps to keep the audience focused on the area where the action is. The window in Vicki's flat is so perfectly executed that it almost looks real.

The director (Val Bogan) included a note in the program encouraging the audience to "sit back, relax, laugh, applaud, and generally have fun". Quick's Having Relations is a fluffy, lighthearted rom-com that moves at a good pace and is highly entertaining, but you really need to be a fan of the genre to get the most out of it. If that does describe you, I heartily recommend that you take the trip out to Kanata to see Having Relations for a fun night at the theatre.

Having Relations is in performances at the Ron Maslin Playhouse through April 1st. Click here for more information or to buy tickets.

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