ON STAGE
What: Forget About Tomorrow
Where: Belfry Theatre, 1291 Gladstone Ave.
When: Jan. 25-Feb. 18
Tickets: $45 through tickets.belfry.bc.ca or 250-385-6815
What鈥檚 here today might be gone tomorrow. Few know that better than Vancouver鈥檚 Jill Daum, who drew inspiration for her very personal play about a couple learning to live with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease from the pages of her own life.
Forget About Tomorrow, which makes its world premi猫re at the Belfry Theatre tonight, is centred around Jane and Tom, a couple forced to confront the sudden, life-changing health diagnosis. They deal with that new reality through humour and heartbreak, along with anger and frustration.
The play mirrors the real-life situation of Daum and her husband, John Mann, who had early-onset Alzheimer鈥檚 diagnosed in 2014. Mann was just 53 at the time of his diagnosis.
When she learned of her husband鈥檚 condition, Daum was already involved with a Vancouver writing workshop for women. Soon after, she began crafting scenes that echoed her own life.
鈥淚 started to write the scenes before anybody knew John had Alzheimer鈥檚,鈥� Daum said. 鈥淚t was very cathartic in that way, because I was secretly writing about this couple that had an early-onset diagnosis, and nobody knew it was actually happening in my life.鈥�
Once Mann, longtime singer for Vancouver Celtic-rock group Spirit of the West, became aware of what Daum was doing, he contributed two songs 鈥� including Forget to Forget 鈥� written specifically for her in-progress work. 鈥淭hese were the last two songs he wrote, so there鈥檚 a beautiful poignancy for me,鈥� said Daum.
Mann supported Daum鈥檚 efforts to bring Forget About Tomorrow to the stage, but his condition has slowly worsened. That he championed the project during his disease鈥檚 early stages has given Daum the confidence to carry on. Her husband鈥檚 good wishes and support are something she cherishes today.
鈥淭here is a lot of fear and a lot of shame with Alzheimer鈥檚,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hink of all the jokes and how flippantly we do it. If you鈥檙e that person nobody wants to be, it鈥檚 difficult. Theatre is, hopefully, an empathetic route. That we all sit there together and collectively try and empathize with the characters is a pretty cool thing. I love theatre for that.鈥�
After learning of Mann鈥檚 diagnosis, Daum and Mann decided only to tell close friends and family. It worked for a while, but eventually Daum, who co-wrote the hit play Mom鈥檚 the Word, felt like she was harbouring a secret that needed to get out.
鈥淚nitially, when you get the news, it is so hard to try and come to terms with it. And it feels like every time you talk about it, it makes it more true. It鈥檚 very hard to be in the denial stage when you鈥檙e open and talking about it, so the discussion is part and parcel with the path to acceptance, for sure.鈥�
They decided to do with the diagnosis what they both have done for the better part of their professional lives 鈥� make art out of life. 鈥� 鈥楢dversity makes art鈥� is certainly a motto in our house, so it seemed kind of natural that we would go that route,鈥� Daum said. 鈥淛ohn got pretty jazzed up about the idea of a piece of theatre that was addressing this.鈥�
The couple bravely took part in 2016鈥檚 Spirit Unstoppable, a documentary about Mann, while Spirit of the West continued to perform until it was no longer feasible to do so. The band performed its final three concerts together in April 2016, before adoring Vancouver audiences.
Forget About Tomorrow was difficult for Daum to bring to completion, as she knew it would bring her journey with Mann that much closer to its end. But in some ways, the journey is not hers alone. She chose to name the lead characters Jane and Tom on purpose, to reflect the everyday people the disease can affect. 鈥淭here is very much an everyperson aspect to it. These are just regular people trying to carve out the best life they can for themselves.鈥�
Daum gets emotional when she thinks about how much has changed in Mann鈥檚 life since she wrote the play, which is directed by Michael Shamata and stars Jennifer Lines and Craig Erickson as the central couple.
Mann鈥檚 cognitive abilities are far poorer than they once were, a heartbreaking reality Daum now accepts. Though she had hoped to bring him to Victoria to see the play, she鈥檚 not sure if that鈥檚 possible. 鈥淚鈥檓 really hoping I can bring him, but, truthfully, I鈥檓 not sure if he will be able to sit in the audience.
鈥淚鈥檓 praying he鈥檒l be able to see it and it will be able to reach him. Because I know it will be really meaningful for him.鈥�
Rehearsing the play with Shamata, for whom Daum has the utmost respect, was a roller-coaster of emotions, Daum said. 鈥淚 think acceptance is the hardest part. But once you come to the acceptance part, how you cope and deal with it day-to-day is a journey unto itself.
鈥淥ne thing Alzheimer鈥檚 really does teach you is to be in the present. I don鈥檛 look into the future very much at all anymore, because there are so many aspects of my future that are inescapably daunting.鈥�
