Some Blow Flutes
Until November 4, HomeFirst Theatre in Halifax presents Some
Blow Flutes, a new play that deals with the
effects of memory loss - both brought on by illness and self-induced - that
asks audiences, how can we forgive when we cannot remember? Recently we
caught up with director Mary Vingoe.
What are your own roots?
I grew up n Halifax and studied theatre
at Dalhousie. Then went to Toronto to do a Masters at U of T and stayed to
be a part of the new wave of Canadian theatre that was happening in the late
70s and 80s. I acted for about 7 years then and co-founded Nightwood Theatre
with Maureen White, Kim Renders and Cynthis Grant in 1979. I took over as
AD of Nightwood Theatre in 1985. I also continued to work in Nova Scotia with
Mulgrave Rd and co-founding Ship’s Company with Michael Fuller. In 1990 my
husband Paul Cram and I moved home to Nova Scotia. Gay Hauser, Wendy Lill
and I founded Eastern Front Theatre in 1993. I left in 2002 to become founding
Artistic Director of The Magnetic North Theatre Festival at Canada’s National
Arts Centre in 2001.
When & why did you
first get involved with theater?
I got the lead in a high school production of
Feydeau’s Please Don’t Walk Around in the Nude - it changed my
life.
Are they the same reasons
you continue to be involved?
After some 40 years of acting, directing,
producing and playwriting, it is my community and my life.
What are the challenges of
the vocation?
Continual financial instability.
What are the
rewards?
A hugely rewarding sense of purpose, and
terrific friends bonded by the intensity of artistic friendship .
How and why did you put this
production together?
I started writing Some Blow Flutes two years
ago. Originally it was to be a play about running for office, which I did
in 2013, however that all changed.
What can audiences expect
during the run?
It is a love story with lots of laughs, but
also has intense moments of sadness and, ultimately and hopefully,
redemption.
What are your thoughts on
the state of theater in Halifax & Atlantic Canada?
There are wonderful things happening here,
excellent actors and creators. We have a huge challenge with infrastructure,
however. We have lost three smaller spaces in the last few years. Developers
are eating up all the affordable spaces and the Province and City have not kept
up with the need for cultural spaces.
What’s next on your
creative agenda?
I have been asked to direct Chekhov’s The Cherry
Orchard at Sir Wilfred Grenfell in Newfoundland. It is a play that I have
wanted to direct since I played Dunyasha the maid in 1977 at Hart House at U of
T...it will be an interesting journey!
Some Blow Flutes
Until November 4
The Bus Stop Theatre, Halifax
