First Mutant's Mutant X Warehouse

FYI London 1/13/06: Andrew Gillies

Speaking Volumes: Director Gina Wilkinson found more than expected in the comedy Relatively Speaking.
Noel Gallagher
The London Free Press January 13, 2006

Gina Wilkinson admits being dubious when she was asked to direct Relatively Speaking.

"There was just no fire in my belly to do a broad 'nudge, nudge, wink, wink' British comedy," the Victoria native says of the Alan Ayckbourn play, which opens its two-week Grand Theatre stay tonight.

Wilkinson relented after considering the high-quality writing Ayckbourn employed in his witty chronicling of a young couple's encounter with older, married counterparts at an English country home.

"The script is just so well crafted. It's constructed like a musical score, with discipline and rigour and each plot development cleverly arranged to follow the previous one very naturally," she adds. The play, which premiered in 1968, was Ayckbourn's first major stage hit.

The playwright went on to pen How the Other Half Loves (1971), Absurd Person Singular (1974), Intimate Exchanges (1985), Invisible Friends (1991) and other popular comedies about marital discord and class conflicts among the English middle class.

"Ayckbourn obviously hates marriage because his plays present a pretty grim view of it," notes Wilkinson. "There's this nastiness, a kind of black humour, located just beneath the surface and that's what intrigued and involved me."

That scenario is personified in Relatively Speaking by Philip and Sheila, whose glib, funny banter cloaks serious problems in their long-time marriage.

Wilkinson cast Andrew Gillies, a veteran of the Stratford and Shaw festivals, in the pivotal role of Philip.

"I wanted Andrew to be our anchor," she explains. "He has this manic intensity and is able to create that feeling of British repression that's so crucial to the character."

The director next recruited Barbara Worthy to portray Philip's long-suffering spouse, Sheila. "She's another Brit, so she can handle the accent, but also understands the rhythm of the dialogue and how it masks some unpleasant undertones."

Brendan Murray and Jenny Young were chosen to play young lovers Greg and Ginny.

"There's not one false note in Brendan's performance," says Wilkinson, "while Jenny has these wonderful comical gifts, even though she's mostly playing the part of straight man in this comedy."

Relatively Speaking marks the second Grand assignment for Wilkinson, who was recruited by artistic director Susan Ferley to guide the theatre's hit 2004 production of Over the River and Through the Woods, Joe DiPietro's comedy about an immigrant family in Hoboken, N.J.

"It's funny, but Susan told me I'd be able to understand Over the River because my mother is Italian and this time round, she said I'd have a good angle on Relatively Speaking since my father is English," says the director.

"At the core of nearly everything is a family's story," she adds. "There's a microcosm of the world in the family, which has all these hideous things, power struggles, and some beautiful elements, too."

Wilkinson explored the family theme in her own inaugural playwriting effort, My Mother's Feet, staged by Toronto's CanStage last season.

After graduating from the National Theatre School in Montreal in 1983, Wilkinson launched a busy and successful acting career. Listed among her many credits are the portrayal of Ruth Condomine in the Grand's 2002 presentation of the classic Noel Coward comedy Blithe Spirit and the recurring role of Crown attorney Anna-Lynn Monteal in the CBC TV series This Is Wonderland.

She turned her attention to directing six years ago and now divides her time between her onstage and backstage roles. Wilkinson has guided the premieres of Mary's Wedding by Stephen Massicote and Mick Unplugged by Greg Nelson (Alberta Theatre Projects PlayRites), Fishshack (Summerworks Festival), Guide to Mourning (Globe Theatre), Grace (Belfry Studio Theatre) and For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again (Festival Antigonish).

"My friends say I became a director because I like bossing people around," she says with a self-mocking laugh. "But the real reason is that, as an actor, I got to know how things could be done. I'm also a painter, so I can think visually. And I just love the idea of putting an entire show together."

-- -- --

IF YOU GO

What: Relatively Speaking, by Alan Ayckbourn; a Grand Theatre production directed by Gina Wilkinson; featuring Andrew Gillies, Brendan Murray, Barbara Worthy, Jenny Young

When: Till Jan. 28; Tuesday to Thursday, 7:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; matinees, Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and Wednesday at 1 p.m.

Where: Grand Theatre, 471 Richmond St.

Tickets: $15 to $49; call 672-8800 or 1-800-265-1593

Tickets online at www.grandtheatre.com.

© FYI London

Return to The Mutant X Warehouse