Spotlight On... Sean Reycraft
 Sean Reycraft knows how to make a marriage work. His newest play One
Good Marriage is being remounted this October at Toronto’s Theatre
Passe Muraille after a successful run earlier this year. Equal parts
wry wit and sad truth, Reycraft doesn’t shy away from the disasters
that can occur between two people. Here, Naomi Skwarna talks with Reycraft
about his play – and
finds out what it just might mean.
NS: Your play used to be called
One Good Marriage, That One That One. Although that title has now
changed, the irony remains. What does the
name of the play mean to you?
SR: It’s a simple title -- just like
the language of the play. It refers to a very “real” relationship
between two people, with equal parts animosity and love.
NS: A
simple premise: a married couple on their first anniversary talkin’ about
their wedding, the honeymoon—and something that
happened in between. This thing that effects Steph and Stewart
so drastically, what inspired you have it occur specifically to
these two people?
SR: I wrote the play for Jeff Miller and Mary Francis
Moore, and
they’re the inspiration behind a lot of the characters. But I also
wanted to write about something extraordinary happening to two
nice, normal, slightly-depressed people. “What’s the worst thing
I can do to them”, I thought. “Then let’s see how they
claw back from this...”
NS: Do you think it may actually have helped
them?
SR: You bet. There’s a line Steph says: “I thought --
let’s
use our honeymoon to really get to know each other.”. Stewart and
Steph come to love only because of what happens to them.
NS: Are
you commenting on marriage, or on how people relate with each other?
SR: I wanted to write about the feeling of looking across at whoever you’ve “chosen” to
be with and wondering, “How the
hell do I even begin to talk to this person?”
NS: In your other plays,
i.e. Pop Song, you are so good at defining the little details involved
when two people connect (or don’t) with
each other. What would you say fascinates you most about the choices
your characters make?
SR: The tiniest of decisions hold huge dramatic
consequence. And the blissful emotional denial that comes with
blinding yourself
by details.
NS: Do you like Steph and Stewart?
SR: I love them. I think they have problems
with themselves -- which is like saying I have a problem with myself.
Which is like
saying I need therapy. What was the question again?
NS: What sort
of audience response are you hoping for? What do you want them
to walk away with?
SR: I wanted to write a story -- a simple story.
So I hope audiences find humour and are moved in Stewart and Steph’s
tale. And if they’re
creeped out a little bit -- hey, that’s a happy bonus.
NS: How has
the production changed in its various runs?
SR: The relationship
between Stewart and Steph (as portrayed by Jeff and MF) has grown
stronger -- their intimate moments, more
specifically. You really believe they’ve been through something horrible
-- and not just the backstage bathroom at Theatre Passe Muraille.
NS: Hee hee. Even though the play was written close to three years ago,
did you understand everything about it right from the start?
Did you make any new discoveries in watching it performed?
SR: With a play like this, I don’t even want to start analyzing where
it came from. That’s when I start to get a little worried...
NS: As
a playwright, what do you feel are the most important elements
in your work?
SR: Humour. Humanity.
NS: Do you have any other projects in mind?
SR: Two plays, one musical.
I’d like to write a ghost story, but in
a way -- One Good Marriage is it. I’m also writing for film now, and
have just adapted a book called Breakfast With Scot by an
American, Michael Downing.
NS: Which playwrights or artists have
influenced, inspired, or effected you in your life (as an artist,
and person).
SR: As a teen, Timothy Findley. Shakespeare was big
with me for a while. Equity Showcase’s 1990 (?) production of Three
Sisters changed my life. Albee makes me uncomfortable because I think I “get
it”.
And right now I have to say I’m loving Noel Coward’s comedies
-- it’s great when people can be completely evil and utterly loveable
at the same time...
One Good Marriage
Sean Reycraft
Steph and Stewart are celebrating their first anniversary; however, rather that
being a time of happiness, the occasion brings terrible sorrow. Blackly hilarious
and deeply moving, this vivid two-hander moves from pathos to humour and back
again as a tragic story is revealed, and the need for community is expressed.
M-1, F-1. Softcover, 71 pp. $12.95.
Shakin' the Stage
Plays by Paul Dunn, Adam Pettle, Sean Reycraft, and Kate Rigg
Theatre Direct Canada
"Provocative drama for young adult audiences."An important collection
that offers a powerful tool for young actors, high school drama classes and
professional theatre artists who want to explore the authentic voices and stories
of young
artists.
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