Spit Delaney’s Island by Charles Tidler from the short story by Jack Hodgins
“Spit is played to crusty perfection by… Clayton Jevne… Susie Mullen hits all the right notes. Kudos are also due to Catriona Black and Perry Burton.” Martlet
“a great [holiday] option… nicely staged… a charming play.” CBC Radio 1 – On the Island
“Tidler has retained Hodgins’ distinctive voice with deft skill and great sensitivity… a powerful sense of people and place… Spit Delaney’s Island is worth seeing.” Times Colonist
“I walked away full of pride for an island way-of-life… if you have never attended one of their shows up until now, make yourself a promise to do so.”
I Have My Own Life to Live – Janis Lacouvee
Jack Hodgins is an internationally lauded local writer whose original book of short stories of the same name won the Eaton’s Book Prize and was nominated for the Governor General’s Award.
Charles Tidler is a local playwright, novelist, and poet of international renown. He is Chalmers Outstanding Play Award recipient, as well as a Governor General Award nominee.
Spit Delaney is a steam locomotive operator at a pulp mill.
After decades of rising at 4am to fire up his beloved steam engine, Spit finds himself without this job when the pulp mill replaces “Old Number One” with a modern diesel engine. Spit declares that he is: “Not sure of where or how I belong.” Spit’s relationship with his family and the world around him is thrown in turmoil as he doggedly tries to hang onto an identity that is no longer relevant. This is the stuff of comedy, and yet it is also the stuff of the human condition. As we laugh at Spit’s misguided struggle to stay the same, we empathize with his loneliness at being left behind while others move on – more readily adapting to a changing world. But there are magical forces at work here, guiding Spit – kicking and screaming – towards a deeper understanding of himself and an unexpected outcome.
“Jack Hodgins has done for the people of Vancouver Island what… Faulkner did for the American South. He has burned them into the national consciousness.” The Gazette (Montreal)
Directed by Karen Lee Pickett.
Featuring (alphabetically): Catriona Black, Perry Burton, Clayton Jevne & Susie Mullen
Costumes by Shayna Ward
Lighting by Clayton Jevne
Sound by Karen Lee Pickett
Stage Managed by Sylvia Lindstrom
Preview 8pm: Dec 1
8pm: Dec 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18, 19
2pm: Dec 5, 12, 19
Reservations and Ticket Sales
Reserve directly through THEATRE INCONNU: Phone (250) 360-0234 or by Email.
We are wheelchair accessible.
Ticket prices: $14 (regular), $10 (seniors, students, unwaged)
Dec 1 – Preview is $7
Wednesday Dec 9, is Pay-What-You-Wish admission
Theatre Inconnu is located at 1923 Fernwood Road (across the street from the Belfry Theatre). For parking we suggest the side streets west of Fernwood Road as these do not have parking restriction signs.
Clayton Jevne, Perry Burton and Susie Mullen as:
Spit Delaney, Waiter, Stella Delaney
Photo by Monique Cartesan
