REANEY DAYS IN THE WEST ROOM by James Reaney, edited by David Ferry (Playwrights Canada Press), $45 paper. Rating: NNNN
Younger theatregoers and even some theatre artists might not know playwright James Reaney (1926-2008), one of the pioneers who gave Canada its own drama.[rssbreak]
An award-winning poet, Reaney turned to the stage with The Killdeer (1960) and in the 70s wrote The Donnellys trilogy, a seminal work based on the feud between the title family and their neighbours in small-town southwestern Ontario.
Actor and director David Ferry, who’s had a long association with Reaney and his plays, has edited this collection of seven scripts, choosing mostly out-of-print works that range from children’s plays (including an adaptation of Alice Through The Looking-Glass for Stratford) to the middle Donnelly script, The St. Nicholas Hotel, Wm Donnelly Prop. The final selection, Zamorna!, has never previously been published.
The plays themselves are often funny, always emotionally vibrant and full of fascinating, well-rounded characters. Production photos enrich the text.
Ferry’s introduction, packed with footnotes, offers background to the dramas and a look at those influential in bringing Reaney’s work to the stage.
Maybe this book will launch a Reaney revival today’s audiences have a lot to discover about our theatrical past.
