Tonight’s world premiere of And So It Goes is writer/director George F. Walker’s 23rd production at Toronto’s Factory Theatre (including three revivals), which celebrates its 40th anniversary season in 2010.
“Walker has been a huge part of Factory’s history, and his plays have resonated in a big way with audiences,” says the theatre’s artistic director Ken Gass, “So when George called to say he’d written a new play, I pretty much leapt at the opportunity. This is very much a play for our times.”
In And So It Goes, Ned and Gwen are middle-class victims of the recession grappling with the fallout of their daughter’s schizophrenia and Ned’s downsizing. Pushed to the edge during their downwardly mobile spiral, they seek the help of a literary legend whose unorthodox therapy may prevent them from going all the way over.
Starring Martha Burns as Gwen (above right), Peter Donaldson as Ned (above left), Jenny Young as Karen, their 25-year old daughter, and Jerry Franken as Vonnegut (centre), Walker’s intensely obsessed characters, troubled social landscapes and signature humour are ever present.
George F. Walker is one of Canada’s most prolific and widely-produced playwrights with a trophy shelf that heaves under the weight of nine Chalmers Awards, five Doras and three Governor General’s Awards; he’s also the recipient of the Order of Canada.
I find Walker’s work to be playful and ironic on the surface, but on closer examination it grapples with some of the main moral dilemmas of our times. As one of the country’s most popular playwrights — and the author of my favourite, Suburban Motel — this production will no doubt continue the legacy of fast-paced, black comedy Walker is best known for.
WHERE/WHEN: And So It Goes at the Factory Theatre (125 Bathurst Street, 416.504.9971), Tuesday – Saturday 8 pm, Sunday 2 pm, until February 28, 2010; $15 – $35 (discounts for seniors, students and theatre artists as well as groups of ten or more).
Photos by Ed Gass-Donnelly
Sue Edworthy is a self-described city enthusiast; her passion for the performing arts has led her to stints as a director, stage manager, event coordinator and arts administrator with Theatre Passe Muraille and Opera Atelier, among others. She is currently the Marketing and Communications Manager at Artscape.
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Backgrounds are fascinating in their attempt to give the audience a view into the workings of Karen’s mind.