This (2011)
Information | Synopsis | Reviews | Fan reports | Photos

»   INFORMATION

Dates:
Location:
Number of performances:

Written by:
Directed by:
On stage as:

Full cast:

Jane
Alan
Jean-Pierre
Marrell
Tom



Website:


January 8 - 29, 2011
The Vancouver Playhouse, vancouver
22

Melissa James Gibson
Amiel Gladstone
Jane



. . .   Megan Follows
. . .   Dmitry Chepovetsky
. . .   Fabrice Grover
. . .   Karen Holness
. . .   Todd Thomson



The Vancouver Playhouse







»   SYNOPSIS

(from vancouverplayhouse.com) "This is a crisp, smart urban comedy about modern relationships in crisis and Vancouver playwright Melissa James Gibson received critical acclaim for its recent off-Broadway production. Jane is a promising poet without a muse and a single mother without lessons to pass along.

Her dating life is a shambles and her helpful friends are only making things more complicated. This captures the uncertain steps of a circle of friends backing their way into middle age."




»   REVIEWS

"[...] a superb, nuanced performance by Follows as a single mother trying to keep it together for her daughter, but stuck in her grief because, really, she has refused to acknowledge it."

– Marsua Lederman, The Globe and Mail



"[...] Although she’s best known for growing up on TV as Anne of Green Gables, Follows is a perceptive stage actress who allows herself to look the part of a tired woman in need of a figurative kick in the butt before middle age sets in."

– Peter Birnie, The Vancouver Sun



"[...] Megan Follows brings charming ease and appealing honesty to her performance as Jane."

– Colin Thomas, Straight.com



"Megan Follows and Karen Holness turn in solid performances, especially when playing off each other. Ms. Follows in particular shows her star quality in the play's most poignant scene at the end [...]"

– John Jane, Review Vancouver



"Playing a character who is at once visible/invisible, coping/not coping, Follows gives a grounded and nuanced performance."

– Andrew Templeton, Plank Magazine




FULL REVIEWS  « 





»   FAN REPORTS


—  Alan Ho-Yee:   "The play itself was very entertaining and didn't get tiring even as a straight 1hr 40min show. Being my first live play, I'm not sure how it would compare, but the play was well written with a down to earth storyline but very humorous at the same time. There was a nice variation in characters with the mixed couple with child, the French doctor, the gay friend and the widow played by Megan. The wife in the story also sings and is played by Jazz singer Karen Holness. All the performers were excellent. Megan as expected performed superbly, putting feeling into her performance as she typically does. Her voice sounds just like it always has and as are many of her mannerisms. it was a thoroughly enjoyable production and I'd recommend anyone to see her live. Live theatre also is quite accessible at the Playhouse where you can buy "rush" tickets at much reduced prices and even a pay what you can performance. Everyone can have a chance to watch which is really great." (Jan. 26, 2011 performance)

—  Jennifer:   "I went to the sky train station after visiting the Vancouver Art Gallery to go the Vancouver Playhouse to see the play "This," with Megan Follows. I found the playhouse/theater pretty quickly. It was only a block from the station. The theater is fairly small, and very nice with lounge seating. I had a great seat (2nd row center). I had a fun time chatting with other Megan and Anne of Green Gables fans. The play was overall very enjoyable. It is about a group of friends (middle-aged) who are dealing with loss of spouses, marriage with a new baby, living a homosexual lifestyle, etc.

The set was very appropriate for the play. It symbolized in a lot of ways what the actors were going through emotionally in their lives at the time. The play mostly takes place in the house of Marell and Tom the best friend of Megan’s character Jane. There are toys everywhere, chipped paint, and other things showing there are new parents busy with a child who does not sleep. There are scraps of wood, and other things that Tom collects to work on their home. Yet it just sits there. Shows how they are stuck in a rut in their marriage with the new baby that never sleeps. I loved the grand piano on the stage for the scenes where Marell who is a jazz lounge singer performs. I like plays that have music in them like that. I found out in Q & A that the songs are written in the play.

The writing by Melissa James Gibson was moving, funny, and sometimes not natural with the dialogue. The direction by Amiel Gladstone was good overall. The dialogue was too rushed at times especially in the scene with Jane and Tom when he tells her how he feels about her. I wanted more development in the characters, their feelings, etc. as you would think Jane (Megan’s character) would not sleep with him unless she did have some deeper feelings for Tom or partly for the attention not that her husband has been gone a year.

The acting was wonderful especially with Megan Follows and Dimitry Chepovetsky. Dimitry was so funny as Alan. Some of the funniest lines I’ve heard in a play. Some touching moments too. Fabrice Grover (jean-pierre), Karen Holness, and Todd Thomson (Tom) were excellent also. Karen has a great singing voice. The play (writing) did not always flow as well, but had a nice mixture of comedy and drama. The scene when Megan Follows (Jane) talking about losing her husband rubs his ashes on her faces chanting “down with death.” She made us laugh as well when she said she kept his ashes on the fridge as she thinks he likes the hum.

The Q&A went by quickly, but it was informative. Megan was asked some questions directly. She was asked about whether her children have interest in acting. She said she tries to keep life pretty simple and normal for them. They have a pretty normal schedules and lives considering. She also answered a question she gets a lot in interviews. She enjoys plays and films equally. She prepares for them actually in a very similar way. They provide different energy, but still offers energy and excitement to feed off of.

After saying they all did a wonderful job. I asked if they had any roles that were therapeutic. They all answered somewhat. I said music was therapeutic, and Karen Holness who played Marrell she agreed that all art forms can be therapeutic. The cast spoke about how even the acting process is therapeutic. It was interesting to hear more about the play. It was interesting to learn that the writer came early on in rehearsals, and they did not change a lot in the play. Melissa, the writer, went to New York at the age of 17 to be an actress, but then she dropped it to write.

After the Q & A I went to the stage door to see whom I could catch from the cast. I met two of my favorite actors from the play Dimitry and Fabrice. They were very nice. They both thanked me for coming, and Fabrice was so appreciative when I told him I came up from Seattle." (Jan. 25, 2011 performance)


Want to add your own fan report?

Please do so! I invite anyone who had the chance to attend a performance to share your experience with everyone else. Just complete THIS FORM and I will add your comments right here.




»   PHOTOS