Ruby Slippers Theatre presents You Will Remember Me until Nov. 28 at The Cultch, 1895 Venables St., Vancouver. Post-show talkbacks: Nov. 22 and 24. Tickets and info at thecultch.com.
Dementia may not be the most cheerful subject for a play, but it's one that many people, including Patti Allan, can relate to.
The North Vancouver raised actress experienced her own father's struggle with dementia, so when she read the script for You Will Remember Me, there was an instant familiarity.
"When I read the play, I could relate to it. It's such a tender piece. It's an important piece," she says.
Penned by Quebec playwright Francois Archambault, it tells the story of Edouard, the aging patriarch of a modern family who is slowly losing his mind to Alzheimer's disease, and the loved ones who are struggling to care for him.
Translated from French by Bobby Theodore, the English version of You Will Remember Me makes its B.C. debut this week at The Cultch. The show is being presented by Ruby Slippers Theatre under the direction of Diane Brown.
Allan plays Madeleine, the exasperated wife of Edouard (Kevin McNulty). Her husband, a retired university professor and historian in his 60s, is an intellectual and political force in his community and has always enjoyed the limelight.
"(Madeleine's) not been comfortable with that and she's also been a little bit threatened all the time about whether he really does care about her," Allan explains.
While Edouard has no problem recalling historical dates and details, he can't seem to remember what he had for breakfast - or whether he had breakfast at all. Now, his family members are exposed to his tangled memories and unfiltered comments and they wonder just how to manage him.
"Everybody is dealing with a very difficult situation, but in that difficult situation, there's also some very funny moments. People are just human after all," Allan says, noting the play touches on the whole range of emotions.
"It's sad. People get angry because that's what you do in these fraught situations. You get tired, you get angry, you get frustrated, you don't know what to do," she says, but adds, "even though it's very, very gut-wrenching, it's also really funny at times."
With an aging population in Canada and the prevalence of Alzheimer's and other dementias expected to rise in the coming years, Allan says You Will Remember Me is "a really wonderful play for our time."
"It's a huge disease, a huge issue."Beyond the surface, Archambault's drama also comments on the political history of Quebec as Edouard, a long-time sovereigntist, weaves details of the Quiet Revolution and Rene Levesque into his historical lectures."When a play is fantastic, it causes people to go away and think and ask questions. And I think this poses some interesting bits of history within the story of what's going on," Allan says. "That's one of the best things you can hope for, is to have people think and consider what their world is about."
B.C. audiences may or may not immediately grasp the political commentary, but the family drama, and the feelings of compassion, resentment and frustration that surround Edouard's mental deterioration, are things everyone can understand.
"What the heart of the story is, is this family that's rather devastated because of the fact that the husband is losing his mind."
The action on stage will be complemented by sets and props by Heidi Wilkinson, lighting by John Webber and video projection design by Corwin Ferguson.
"I think it's going to be visually beautiful to look at," Allan says.
