Disregarding garlic breath and Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” there’s nothing more powerful than the bonds of a family. Families go through thick, thin, and, in the most extreme cases, freezing cold and gunfire, but they always remain strong.
On that note, UVic’s theatre department will be performing Thorton Wilder’s Pulitzer-winning The Skin of Our Teeth, a play about the best of times, the worst of times, and a family that sees it all.
“The director [Linda Hardy] has been wanting to do this show for several years and finally had the opportunity because she had the actors for it,” explains the play’s associate director, Chari Arespacochaga. “She says that as the years went by and she actually had to wait to put the show on stage, it seems more and more relevant to what’s happening.”
The show, written in the ’40s and set in many different time periods, is about a familyŃessentially, humanityŃand their journey through an ice age, a war, global warming, the Depression, and other difficult points in the history of man.
“If you just read it based off just the summary, it seems heavy-handed,” says Arespacochaga, who says that there’s more to the play than there initially seems to be.
“There are references to the ice age, there are references to the war, but when you think about it and actually see it, it’s quite entertaining. The gist of it is the dynamics of a family and really the dynamics of being human, and I think that it doesn’t matter what era those things happen in, it still stands. It’s really about mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters.”
Wilder saw his plays as a bit of relief for those whose lives were in need of inspiration, explains Arespacochaga.
“He was writing it at a time when he felt like America needed some inspiration because of the war, and his message is, ‘You know what? We have survived worse things by the skin of our teeth, and we will continue to do so.’ It’s very optimistic; it believes in humanity a lot.”
The play feature 25 cast members doing over 60 roles, and Arespacochaga is highly anticipating its opening.
“I think it’s a great evening of a little black comedy,” she says. “It’s very moving. The story really is about a family that represents humanity and all the things that humanity has gone through throughout the years. It’s the history of the human race; there’s bound to be something we’re going to laugh at.”
The Skin of Our Teeth
Until November 23,
Phoenix Theatre, UVic
phoenixtheatres.ca