Mark Crawford’s Bed and Breakfast is a drama within a farce that captures the joys and the struggles for one gay couple as they move from urban Toronto to small town Ontario. The production, directed by Pamela Halstead, runs at Ship’s Company Theatre until July 28th, 2019.
Brett and Drew have been trying to buy a house in Toronto without much success when Brett inherits the family home in a small, rural town. Initially wary of their ability to fit in in a place where everyone knows one another and each other’s business, the couple eventually try to make a go of turning the house into a charming, but contemporary, Bed and Breakfast. They meet new friends, some quite unexpected, and confront some frightening resistance, and they unearth some old familial secrets that root them deeper into the community.
A lot of the comedy comes from the way that Crawford chooses to frame this story, Brett and Drew are acting out the important scenes from their last year for us, which means that actors Kevin Curran and Gordon Gammie play all the parts. This lends itself well to silliness, especially during the play’s most farcical scene: Opening Day of the new B&B, when the guests descend upon the household, joining our already large roster of characters. There’s also the addition of a puppy. Chaos ensues.
Curran and Gammie are very skilled at bringing these character to life. Some of them make us laugh, like the drunken newlyweds, but many are beautifully nuanced people who we come to really care about. Characters come and go quickly, but it’s usually quite clear which character is speaking, and even when it wasn’t immediately clear, it never affected my ability to follow the story. I especially loved Curran’s portrayal of sweet Dustin, a teenaged baker who befriends Drew and Brett, and Gammie’s Doug, the gruff contractor who knew Brett’s Aunt Maggie. Brett’s nephew Cody is also fun to watch.
Pamela Halstead does a great job of rooting specific moments within simple set pieces (Drew and Brett’s bedroom, a counter that works both for a coffee shop and a hotel reception), but also gives the actors empty space in which to play and mime whatever else they need. This works well within Crawford’s framework that we are watching Brett and Drew act out their story. Aaron Collier gives the show a great soundscape, which also helps to root us in this specific world.
At the beginning of the play Drew notices that he’s been omitted from the obituary of Brett’s aunt. Crawford does a beautiful job in this play of showing how these kind of “micro-aggressions” not only are constant, unpleasant and exhausting in themselves, but also often build into a more serious and dangerous situation for Queer folks. Crawford also shows the power of genuine allyship here, and how sometimes it can come from unexpected places. Bed and Breakfast is a theatrical marathon for its two actors, and both funny and moving for its audience.
Bed and Breakfast plays at Ship’s Company Theatre (18 Main Street, Parrsboro, Nova Scotia) through July 28th, 2019. Performances are Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00pm and 2:00pm on Saturdays and Sundays. For tickets please visit this website or phone 902.254-3000.
