What: Bed and Breakfast
Where: Belfry Theatre
When: To Aug. 27
Rating: four stars (out of five)
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To suggest the Belfry鈥檚 latest production is a gay version of Letter from Wingfield Farm might seem like damning with faint praise.
But in fact, it鈥檚 really not.
Mark Crawford鈥檚 Bed and Breakfast is a two-man comedy about a same-sex couple who move from Toronto to a wee Ontario town to start a bed-and-breakfast business. The two are fairly sophisticated types: Brett (played by Crawford) is an interior designer with his own TV show; Drew (Paul Dunn) is a hotel concierge.
A good chunk of the humour in Bed and Breakfast stems from the clash between urban and rural sensibilities 鈥� a time-honoured trope (remember Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies?).
Such a premise is not so far removed from Rod Beattie鈥檚 hugely popular Wingfield series. Those comedies centre on a city slicker who moves to quaint Persephone Township where, a novice farmer, he encounters a gaggle of eccentric but good-hearted rubes.
In the one-man Wingfield shows, Beattie plays a dizzying cornucopia of characters, instantly shifting from one to another. In Bed and Breakfast, Crawford and Dunn play a dizzying cornucopia of characters 鈥� about 11 each.
Much of the entertainment value in Bed and Breakfast is linked to the actors鈥� deft ability to shift from one role to another in a split second. It鈥檚 a virtuoso dance and certainly the play鈥檚 most appealing feature. We meet a diverse bunch 鈥� inarticulate teens, gruff building contractors, bisexual B&B customers, lesbian bikers and so forth. Helped by Ashlie Corcoran鈥檚 clear direction, Crawford鈥檚 and Dunn鈥檚 leaps from character to character benefit immensely from spot-on lighting and sound cues.
A couple of characterizations do border on caricature due to an overreliance on exaggerated poses and catch-phrases (one character tiresomely prefaces most of her sentences with an oh-so-Canadian 鈥渟orry鈥�). Yet overall, we鈥檙e treated to an appealing display of theatrical gymnastics.
While the town-versus-country theme weaves through this two-hour play, the key conflicts in Bed and Breakfast are triggered by the couple鈥檚 sexual orientation. Brett and Drew are on the receiving end of homophobia in subtle and no-so-subtle ways.
In one scene, the contractor, clearly uneasy with their sexuality, dismisses Brett with a limp wrist. Elsewhere, a jaw-dropping act of vandalism has the twosome wondering whether their decision to move to Smalltown sa国际传媒 was such a good idea after all.
Bed and Breakfast is an examination of society鈥檚 prejudice against gay people, yet for the most part, Crawfold sidesteps heavy-handedness or didacticism. The majority of the characters are multi-faceted, even complex 鈥� and they鈥檙e portrayed with heart and humanity. One of the best is an endearingly oddball teen who loves baking. Finally comprehending his own sexuality, he declares with adolescent bluntness: 鈥淚 guess I鈥檓 gay now.鈥�
As a playwright, Crawfold displays a strong sense of craftsmanship reminiscent of such playwrights as Alan Ayckbourn and Norm Foster. Threads of seemingly divergent narratives are tied up neatly and firmly.
We learn, for instance, why Brett鈥檚 late aunt left the B & B house to him and not his father 鈥� a plot twist so startling, it leaves us with a pleasant sense of vertigo. And, in the manner of a traditional farce, Act II heats to a satisfying comedic boil when the ill-prepared B&B hosts try to juggle a rambunctious houseful of guests.
There is a certain sentimentality at work here. It will likely please most theatre-goers and leave others with a faintly saccharine taste. Near the show鈥檚 end, one character, in an earnest declaration of the comedy鈥檚 overarching message, declares: 鈥淎 home is where your people are. I think that鈥檚 what we wanted and that鈥檚 what we got.鈥�
No one can argue with this 鈥� although it does seem like the kind of bon mot John-Boy Walton might utter just before nighty-night time.
Yet all in all, Bed and Breakfast 鈥� which drew an enthusiastic response on Thursday night 鈥� is an entertaining night at the theatre.