Playwright's debut effort smart, funny, touching
by Jenny Gabruch
Star Phoenix, February 1, 2000
What's the connection between love, light, 'qwiffs' and 'quantum wholeness'?
They all come together in the life of Hally, a physics professor trying to make sense of her universe after the sudden death of her husband.
That's the premise behind Jennifer Webber's debut play, Beside Myself. It is being produced by the Red Wagon Word Co-op with the support of 25th Street Theatre.
Framed by the scientific method of hypothesis, observations and conclusions, the story follows one woman's journey from grief to acceptance. It's smart, funny and touching without being saccharine.
It begins with Hally (Louisa Ferguson) launching her new life aboard a 27-foot sailboat in Vancouver.
She has left her old life on the Prairies behind. Feeling the 'ground' move with her as she jumps on the deck of her sailboat thrills her.
"Better to lose your ground than your life," she observes.
Trouble is, this is the dream she and her husband Wade (Bruce McKay) had envisioned living together.
As Hally faces her new beginning alone she turns to what she knows - physics - to help her through the grieving process.
Set on Hally's boat, the action moves between the past and the present.
Hally still sees Wade everywhere.
She talks to him about what could have been, the difficulties of leaving her life in Saskatoon behind, her memories of their times together, her future.
That's where qwiffs and quantum wholeness come in. A qwiff is sort of a 'what if' scenario in physics.
What if she was in the car with Wade? What if she didn't expect the worst when the doctor gave her the news about her husband?
Quantum wholeness deals with perception and reality.
"Things look brighter in the morning," Wade tells Hally at one point.
Ferguson delivers an engaging performance as Hally, moving easily from a hilarious description of a laughing fit at her in-laws to revealing painful thoughts of suicide.
She carries most of the dialogue. McKay is a constant but silent presence, only interacting in the second act.
Director Mark von Eschen keeps it simple.
The set is minimal and the actors don't really do much but move around and talk. That's where some judicious editing would help.
The play loses momentum in the second act as Hally and Wade discuss various physics theories.
It may be clever but it's too long. Thoughts tend to wander when talk turns to alternate realities and the nature of time and space. Still, the conclusion is worth it.