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Culture Stage

Mothers and sons

VINCENT RIVER by Philip Ridley, directed by Stewart Arnott, with Matthew Gorman and Kyra Harper (Cart/Horse). At Tarragon Extra Space (30 Bridgman). Previews begin Saturday (February 5), opens Tuesday (February 8) and runs to February 20, Tuesday-Saturday 8 pm, matinee Sunday 2:30 pm. $10-$25. 416-531-1827.


The loss of a child is always hard on a mother. That loss is even worse when she realizes that she never really knew her son.

Anita, one of the two characters in Philip Ridley’s play Vincent River, is dealing with her son Vincent’s murder by a group of men. Forced to find a new home when rumours spread that he was gay, she finds that she’s being stalked by the teenaged Davey.

The confrontation between the pair lies at the heart of the show, as they play cat and mouse to discover each other’s secrets.

“I was first attracted to Anita both by what I knew about her and what I wanted to discover about her,” says actor Kyra Harper, who plays the role in Cart/Horse Theatre’s production.

“The meeting with Davey is a way for Anita to confront the 33-year-old son she discovers was a stranger to her. Convinced he was one person, she learns that he was someone else. It takes a lot to make her break the bubble of denial in which she’s lived for so long.”

A single mother with her own history of hurt and loss, Anita doesn’t at first realize that Davey is the one person who can bring her a sense of release.

“In fact, they need each other desperately each holds the key to a door the other wants unlocked, both factually and emotionally. Still, they tease out information to each other, manipulative with their individual secrets and allowing only certain details to come to light in each exchange.

“They don’t become friends, but they soon recognize their mutual connection and are surprised at the discovery.”

Sixteen-year-old Davey, more mature than his years suggest and just as emotionally adrift as Anita, has a mother as unaware of the details of his life as Anita is of Vincent’s.

“It’s a hard journey for both of them, but strangers sometimes can share intimate details more easily than people who have known each other their whole lives,” says the actor, whose previous stage work includes Missing and Medea. “Each has a kind of safety net in not knowing much about the other part of that security is that they may never see each other again after this encounter.

“Still, at some level they bond as mother and son.”

Sharing the stage with performer Matthew Gorman, Harper acknowledges the teeter-totter nature of the script.

“The balance between the two shifts back and forth as they each realize who’s scoring points and who’s getting what she or he needs. We’ve realized that it’s impossible to hide with only two people onstage. It can be quite tricky to sort out where the transfer of power happens, who’s picking up the ball and running with it.”

jonkap@nowtoronto.com

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