Faithful Correspondence

A friend and I recently drove mostly local out to Tarragon Theatre from Mississauga, braving the wet evening cold to make it to our seats early. Patrons trickled in with an air of good humour and cheer – beers, wines, and concession snacks in hand. The eeriness of the set made for great anticipation for two people who don’t always like to have expectations of the shows they see.

Withrow Park, named after the park on the cusp of east-end Toronto, written by Morris Panych and brought to the stage by Jackie Maxwell and crew, had the audience’s attention for an hour and 45 minutes including an intermission. Arthur (Benedict Campbell) and Janet (Nancy Palk), a divorced elderly couple live together with Janet’s sister Marion (Corrine Koslo). When a stranger, Simon (Johnathan Sousa), shows up at their door, they debate the authenticity of his story (he’s new to the neighbourhood) and take turns trading remarks about his charm and trustworthiness.

As the quips go back and forth within the walls of the house overlooking Withrow Park, where public mischief can be seen by the characters from inside its windows, tensions seep through the narrative, foregrounding Arthur’s sexuality and Marion’s struggles with her mental health, lonelinesses and a xenophobia that creeps into the shroud of humour. Is Simon’s presence a dream? What distinguishes reality from delusion or wishful thinking? Who will care for you when you need it most?

You can feel the elevated mood fizzle and sink, drift upward again like wind in a shaft, then settle again. A deceptively complex play – which takes place in the seniors’ downstairs living room and foyer of their house but involves an intricate set of props and cues – Withrow Park winds its way into the soul through laughter, and once there, meditates on the fickleness of life: regrets, capricious romances, circuitous paths, and the uncertainty time brings as it moves unevenly forward.

Withrow Park has been extended until December 10, 2023 at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.