Jesus Freak by Peter Boychuk

Jesus Freak by Peter Boychuk plays at Pacific Theatre,  March 1 to March 23.  It’s genius. A brilliantly written play performed by the best of casts to enlightened direction.  I loved the physical fight scene.  But most I loved the mother played by Katharine Venour.

The story is of an adult family, “cool” parents living on Saltspring Island, mother a novelist, father a bureaucrat who fought the establishment when younger, with the gay actor son over from Vancouver and the political science student daughter visitting from Montreal. It’s the Easter weekend. Everything is symbolic in this play. There’s layers within layers.  It’s Biblical in that sense, shallow and mythical for the superficial reader, profound and revolutionary for the deeper explorer.  Pathos too. I was crying as Kaitlin Williams,who played the daughter ,Clara Campbell told her mother how anxious she felt, how alienated, how alone.  I was so angry at the father, Alan Campbell, played by Ron Reed, who was such an intellectual bully but completely unaware of his intransigence yet equally so loving of his family. His hypocrisy ,so apparent as he claims to be open minded but says “I think I’d have found it easier if she said she was a drug dealer rather than saying she’d joined a church.” Such a fine little man with such a big heart.  Such beautiful a family.   Ron Reed surprised me with yet another unique performance showing facets I’d never known.  Yet I’ve admired him in dozens and dozens of roles.  Morris Ertman the director has a delicate touch.  I loved mother giving her daughter a picture of her mother and her in Sunday school.

God, it’s good to be Canadian at times when you see such a play! It’s utterly unique to Canada and especially the Pacific North West. The eagle joke was over the top.

 The struggles of the gay son, Nate Campbell, played so sensitively by Brandon Bate.  I loved the protectiveness of the father who said his son’s late lover was insincere. 

 Such beautiful parents.  Smoking a joint, having a glass of wine, so much accomplished. Later in life.  Such a story. Such incredible dialogue.  And humor.  Good humor.  Sadness, angst. I was moved to the core.  A play you could watch over and over and over again.  Such themes.  Faith, grace, intellect, reason.  But mostly love.  

Without the good mother there is war was my take home message.  The mother who is a cancer survivor.  Such profundity.  The family that loves. The great actors and great theatre.  Truly wonderful, a magical,  mystical, Druidic miraculous angelic night of live theatre..  Alright, I liked everything about this play. 

I  know each of these people portrayed in real life.  They  have all irritated me. But I loved  transformation.   In the end even I  found  tolerance and love. Their pettiness transformed into rank humanity.  They’re relationship. Fellow humans on a tragic comedic planet. The playwright captured a glimpse. I loved the references to Star Trek.  Now that was hilarious.  Gene Roddenbury would have approved.

A great night. Laura loved it too.  It was a dark and rainy  night when we left the theatre.  We were a little closer, a little more connected.  Three in one. There were a lot of clues and still more to be found.