Feisty octogenarian takes over STC's stage

Marion de Vries, director of Sudbury Theatre Centre’s production Another Home Invasion, is quick to praise actor Lorna Wilson as “a gift. She is Jean at the core ... filled with a strong will, with determination, with wit and humour.”

In other words, Wilson, the play's lead actor, is what every director hopes for — an actor who is perfect for the part, and having the perfect Jean is vital to this play.

Another Home Invasion, which runs Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, tells the story of octogenarian Jean and her determination to get what she wants and deserves, a say in her future. Jean is a survivor and Wilson channels that strength in a most believable and engaging way.

de Vries was ecstatic with Sudbury Theatre Centre’s invitation to direct this beautifully written Joan MacLeod play.

“I am a huge admirer of Joan’s writing,” she said.

“Her characters, ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, are so real that we feel we know them. Every time I reread this particular play, I discover new things; it’s never, ever boring.”

And that, de Vries says, will hold true for audiences as well. They will never be bored as Jean reveals the myriad of complications in her life. In her “week from hell,” she faces, among others, Claudia the social worker who holds Jean’s future in her hands.

It is Claudia who represents the system; Claudia who will either recommend or sabotage Jean and her husband Alec’s acceptance into their desired future home, The Kiwanis.

Claudia, to Jean, is even more feared than the jittery street person who enters their home, the kind of home invader we all dread.

Another Home Invasion is a one-woman show that is peopled with an array of vivid characters, all seen through Jean’s eyes, all stamped with Jean’s interpretation. We meet her daughter, her granddaughter, her husband, the Y Aquasize instructor, social worker Claudia and, of course, the home invader.

de Vries becomes animated when she explains how people are drawn into a one person show because the audience member is being spoken to directly by the actor. Audiences feel they are in the play itself, being pulled instantly into the story, on edge to find out what happens next. There will be no spoiler at this time. The story telling is too delicious to risk ruining.

de Vries is the perfect choice to direct a one-woman show, having written three herself. Besides being an award-winning playwright, whose work has been seen in Toronto, Montreal, London, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Blyth and Prince Edward County, she has staged numerous acclaimed and award-winning productions of Canadian plays.

de Vries says that, “directing Another Home Invasion fulfills a long-held desire to stage a play written by the brilliant Joan MacLeod. Since being introduced to her many years ago by mutual friend Alan Williams, I’ve admired Joan as one of Canada’s top playwrights.”

Meeting MacLeod’s Jean in Another Home Invasion is a gift; everyone has a Jean in their life. Be sure to visit the Sudbury Theatre Centre October 21 to November 1 to meet this one. She will work her way into your heart.

The play runs 10 days only at the Sudbury Theatre Centre, Oct. 23 to Nov. 1, Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

The Pay What You Can matinee is Sunday, Oct. 26 at 2 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at sudburytheatre.ca or by phone at 705-674-8381.