There have been several well known works that explore the sexual relationship between a young woman (or in some cases a girl) and an older man in a position of power, and the grey lines that sometimes exist between consent, sexual harassment, and predatory behaviour. What is immediately different about Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells), playing at the Neptune Theatre Scotiabank Studio Theatre until February 24th, is that it is written by a woman.
Rose Napoli roots this story in Laura, a twenty-five year old writer who has recently written her first novel. She wants her former High School English teacher, “Alan Wells,” to be the first to read it. It is inspired by a relationship they had over a six month period when she was fifteen and his student in the tenth grade. Most of the play is Laura’s Memory Play; we are taken back through that time in her life, and we see the experience through her fifteen year old eyes. Yet, so much of the power of this story, and, I think, the truth of it, lies in how Napoli layers Laura’s twenty-five year old self overtop of these memories, so we are also able to see how Laura’s perceptions have changed with maturity, distance and time. As a fifteen year old Laura is assertive, intelligent, strong-willed, confused, struggling with her self-confidence, and having difficulty loving herself and caring for herself. She is simultaneously a gifted teenager and a typical one. Initially, she genuinely believes her love for Mr. Wells, and his love for her, is the sort of true love written about in novels. She doesn’t feel victimized or preyed upon, in fact she wields her own power often, and with strength. Yet, ultimately we realize that Mr. Wells’ power is, of course, more inherent, systemic, and more effective. As a twenty-five year old Laura is sardonic, she has come into the power of her rage, her deep understanding, and her truth. Napoli ensures that we deeply understand and empathize with fifteen year old Laura’s behaviour, and that we also have some understanding and compassion for Mr. Wells, but ultimately, I think, it’s twenty-five year old Laura that dramatically shows both the lasting effect and trauma even a relationship that was “consensual” at the time can have, and the triumph of Laura using a decade’s worth of growth, insight and resilience to take back this story from her past and to be the one to tell it in her own way. For me, that is so much of what #MeToo is all about.
Exceptional actors are required to bring such complex characters to life and Neptune’s production delivers in spades. Josh MacDonald infuses Alan Wells with sincerely likeable qualities; he is thoughtful and concerned about Laura’s welfare, he gives off a sheepish and unthreatening air of self deprecating humour, and we are really able to see how fifteen year old Laura might become infatuated with him. As the play escalates MacDonald and Celia Koughan’s Laura develop a deep emotional connection that brings out a euphoric and playful side in both of them. Alan begins to act more and more like a teenager. Yet, quickly, all that euphoria dissolves into jealousy, panic and manipulation and MacDonald is especially skilled at showing how the same Alan Wells who calls his student “kiddo,” who deliberately keeps the classroom door ajar, and who seeks to protect and nurture the talents of a gifted student, can also refuse to hear her “no,” and can completely betray her on multiple levels simultaneously. Celia Koughan’s portrayal of Laura is extraordinary. The play is not told in chronological order, but Koughan has such a precise sense of Laura’s chronological emotional arc. In the very earliest scenes we see there is so much that is still so child-like about her, the way she reads her writing (slightly too fast, stumbling over the words), shows beautifully her insecurities and her longing for connection. There is so much raw emotion in Laura that propels her to make reckless decisions, and Koughan plays fifteen with such nuance, depth, respect, and deep understanding, so we see Laura, not as a stereotype, but a really, multifaceted teenager, but a teenager nonetheless. At twenty-five Koughan’s Laura is fierce, she is ready to force “Mr. Wells” to confront her, and his role in shaping the woman and the writer that she has become.
Annie Valentina directs the piece with such clarity and support for the emotional arcs of both MacDonald and Koughan. The play is deeply engrossing, and Valentina is beautifully adept at building the intimacy between Laura and Mr. Wells in ways that aren’t always obvious boundary-breakers, forcing the audience to examine at what point we suddenly draw that line and begin to feel uncomfortable, disgusted, and/or concerned for Laura’s welfare. Valentina creates evocative classroom and writing imagery throughout the play, showing that Laura and Alan are never free from their power dynamic, but the ending comes with a intensely powerful power switch. This imagery is beautifully echoed in Aaron Collier’s sound design, one that we don’t just hear, but feel, as an ominous force closing in on the characters.
Over the last year or so it’s become painfully and profoundly obvious that so many of our #MeToo stories don’t just exist in black or white, but that sexual assault and sexual harassment have thrived, unchecked, in the grey for millennia. It’s become increasingly important for us, as women, to shine a light on these more complex issues, and to have these conversations about when consent is murky or impossible and why. Lo (Or Dear Mr. Wells) leaves its audience with a strong message, but also a lot to contemplate. It gives us some answers, but it can also provoke questions. It is powerfully relevant, immediate, and frank. I encourage Haligonians to go, and to continue to have these important, meaningful and sometimes difficult conversations. Theatre has the power to transform us in ways that Netflix and Cineplex can’t and this is exactly the kind of play that has the ability to open minds, hearts and souls and to make Halifax a better and stronger place for us by proxy. Congratulations to Neptune Theatre and Artistic Director Jeremy Webb for its commitment to telling these stories and giving space for such a bold, intelligent and necessary work by a young, female playwright.
Lo (or Dear Mr. Wells) by Rose Napoli plays at the Neptune Theatre Scotiabank Studio Theatre (1593 Argyle Street, Halifax) until February 24th. Performances are Tuesday to Sunday at 7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00pm. Tickets can be purchased online HERE or by phone at 902-429-7070 or toll-free 1-800-565-7345, or in person at the Box Office (1593 Argyle Street).
You can find Neptune Theatre on Social Media: Facebook. Twitter. Instagram (@neptunetheatre). YouTube. The hashtag for the show is: #HFXLo
