Director Judy Treloar hopes That Face will grab audiences the same way it grabbed her when she first saw the play. That was in New Zealand, three years ago. After seeing the play, she was so moved by it that she went and bought the script.
“I took the script back to where I was staying,” says Treloar. “I read it. I couldn’t sleep. I just thought it was amazing.”
For Treloar, part of what makes the play so great is that it doesn’t spell things out for the audience, and makes them come to their own conclusions.
“People want to talk about it after watching it,” she says. “It leaves a lot of questions. It doesn’t answer everything. This play makes people think.”
That Face is the story of a dysfunctional family. And considering that we are all members of a family, and every family has stories and conflicts, audience members may find their family has elements in common with the family in the play.
In the story, there is a mother, who is very close to her son; a daughter, who pushed away from her family; and a father, who has to come in to rescue everything during a crisis. The play begins with the daughter and her friends torturing and hazing fellow students.
“There are some people in the world that think every family is dysfunctional,” says Treloar. “I mean, I look at my familyÉ well, I have an ordinary family. Maybe you want to think about your family and how normal it is, too. That’s what we want people to do. Think about that.”
Actress Kirsten Van Ritzen, who plays Martha, the mother, says audiences will be able to relate to this play because of the family dynamics, whether or not their family is as dysfunctional as the one in That Face.
“Hopefully their family’s experience is not extreme,” says Van Ritzen, “but they can identify with some of the control issues and some of the emotional issues. It’s a very emotional and dramatic work, where you see how everyone needs each other and at the same time pushes each other away.”
That Face is a very good chance for people to look at their own families. This play not only helps us understand what it means to be part of a family but also makes people think what family is for.
That Face
January 17-February 2
Langham Court Theatre
langhamtheatre.ca