Truth Be Told Theatre
The Life Game by Keith Johnston

Dates and Venue 10 - 14 April 2013, 7pm | Studio 1398, Granville Island

Reviewer Karen Fitzgibbon

Tonight’s (April 10) guest is Nicola Cavendish who is originally from England. The actors get a chance to brush up on their English accents which adds a bit of charm to Nicola’s life story.98

When doing an improv of a person’s life, we never know just what to expect  because  the interview is of a  person who is usually chosen at random. I have attended similar improvs and found them especially fascinating when the person chosen has never been on stage before. With tonight’s performance, however,  our guest has had previous stage experience as an actress, so it made me wonder how much was real and how much was acting on the part of our guest.

As our evening rolls on, we are taken back to the hard times in the 50s in England. There is discord about finances which is common in most households.

Humour appears when we have Nicola as a teenage girl hiding in the cellar below the floor boards where she can hear her father talking to a suitor. Unfortunately, the suitor is only in the mind of the father and not the daughter.  She cringes as she hears her father trying to set her up with a date.

There is also tragedy and triumph. Nicola develops  diabetes at a young age but triumphs by falling in love and living a great life. We can feel sorrow for Nicola as she reminisces about the good times with her cherished dog and the its loss..

When we see a regular person being interviewed about her life, we can appreciate how she must feel standing outside herself and looking in on her life. This is surely what must be happening to Nicola. What would you say about your life? What was important? What made you happy and what made you sad?

© 2013 Karen Fitzgibbon