All right, so spring itself has decided to take a little break and give us chilly and damp. It’s guaranteed that the minute I put away my warm coats and boots, there’s a cold snap and I get them out again. Ah, Canada’s unpredictability – flooding in New Brunswick, freezing in the Okanagan. The only thing certain, as they say, are the two Canadian seasons: winter and road work.
I went to see “December Man” a few nights ago – for those of you in Toronto, I recommend that you do not miss it. It’s about the aftermath of the Polytechnic murders in Montreal, once again based on a true story: playwright Colleen Murphy has breathed life and heart into the individuals and events behind a newspaper clipping. The acting of Brian Dooley and especially Nicola Lipman, as a middle-aged Quebecois couple blind-sided by events beyond their control, is as good as it gets. After a production like this, I feel replete, as if I’ve just had a very good meal. Which I have.
And on Sunday, I watched “Cranford,” a British drama set in an English village in the 1840’s, starring the world’s best actresses – Judi Dench, Eileen Atkins, Imelda Staunton. How I love those mobile, intelligent, extraordinary faces. Just as well the weather’s not great – let’s watch television and go to the theatre. Who needs tulips?
