Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland’s Between Breaths, playing at Neptune Theatre’s Fountain Hall Stage until November 10, 2019 is a story that lives in the contrast between unexpectedly triumphing over death, and the ultimate letting go of one’s fight for life.
The play, written by Robert Chafe, tells the story of a real person, Dr. Jon Lien (played by Steve O’Connell), who worked as a professor at Memorial University in St. John’s, and whose courageous curiosity, indefatigable energy, and shrewd problem-solving skills led to him eventually saving over five hundred whales that had become tangled in fishing nets, first off the coasts of Newfoundland, and later around the world.
Lien suffered from a debilitating illness which eventually led to him being immobile and having dementia. He passed away in 2010. Chafe chooses to begin his play at the end of Lien’s remarkable life, anchoring the first scene in the companionship, support, and fear of his wife, Judy (Berni Stapleton), who advocates for him fiercely. The story progresses backwards, with Lien growing younger and more robust with each passing scene. One would think to begin with what seems like the story’s emotional climax Chafe would be undercutting the emotional journey for the audience, but, in fact, there is such poignancy in watching the time rewind, continually enriching the context for all that has come before.
Darryl Hopkins plays Jon’s friend Wayne, who helps him with the whale saving missions. Neither Wayne nor Jon are the type to express themselves sentimentally, but Chafe’s writing, coupled with Hopkins and O’Connell’s masterful performances creates a lovely friendship between the two where their affection and respect for one another is apparent. Stapleton’s Judy is relentless in her care for Jon, and her meticulous attention to the big picture when Jon so often gets consumed in the immediate specifics. Steve O’Connell gives a genuinely breathtaking performance as Jon Lien; there is so much detail and subtly in his work, especially in the way he expresses Jon’s frustration and determination to try to overcome his physical limitations and mental illness. There is a particularly heart-wrenching scene between Jon and Judy when Jon becomes disoriented and Judy isn’t sure how to calm him down that is riveting, and I think hits close to home for those who have experience with folks living with dementia. As Jon becomes younger we begin to see more shades of his personality shine through and O’Connell brings great heart and texture to his portrayal of a complex person who took extraordinary risks and lived a life of great empathy.
The gorgeous soundscape for the play is by the Newfoundland-based band The Once, and is performed here by Brianna Gosse, Steve Maloney, and Kevin Woolridge to powerful effect. The haunting sounds, mostly wordless, evoke the sea and the whales, they root us unmistakably in Newfoundland, and help to reflect the sweeping emotions of Chafe’s story. The soundscape is intrinsic and unique to this story, providing its beating heart.
Jillian Keiley is brilliant at finding creative ways to take something literally gigantic, like a whale, and bring it to the stage in a way that is theatrically minimalistic, but without losing the sense of drama or the sense of scope. She brings Wayne and Jon out on the ocean in a zodiac, hovering above a frightened, trapped whale, and we feel the urgency, we see the turbulent water, she provides us with the parameters of the imagery and we are able to fill in the rest with our own imaginations. Ultimately, Keiley roots this play in the characters and the music and the beautiful juxtaposition between grief and joy.
Many of the whales that we encounter in Between Breaths are given a second chance at life after undergoing a harrowing and terrifying ordeal. If only through the magic of theatre, it is powerful to be able to watch Lien himself get a second chance at life too, as his illness fades away each evening as the play progresses. O’Connell, Keiley, and Chafe all capture that fleeting feeling of adrenaline and joie de vivre that accompanies a confrontation with our own mortality, the human equivalent of whales breaching.
Between Breaths plays at the Neptune Theatre Fountain Hall Stage (1593 Argyle Street, Halifax) now through November 10th, 2019. Shows are Tuesday to Friday at 7:30pm, Saturday and Sunday at 2:00pm and 7:30pm. Tickets are $30.00- $78.00 and are available at the Box Office at 1593 Argyle Street, by calling 902.429.7070, or ONLINE HERE.
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