Local theatre lovers turned out for four days of performances when Equinox Theatre presented its newest production, 'Hilda's Yard', over March 23-26 at the Outlook Civic Centre.
Co-directed by John McPhail and Justin Turton, the play takes place in the backyard of the Fluke family home on a September day in 1956. Hilda (played by Debbie Stevens) and her husband Sam (Floyd Childerhose) are preparing for a life without their grown children, son Gary (Phil Guebert) and daughter Janey (Jill Lee). Sam is looking forward to picking up the household's brand new television set, while Hilda has reservations about dishing out so much money ($337.45 to be precise, but Sam believes he can get it for less) for it.
Meanwhile, both kids end up coming back home, emotional baggage and all, turning a once-peaceful and normal Friday into a day of chaos. Sam and Hilda have to talk to their kids about their own problems, whether it's Gary's bookie Beverly (Kirk Friggstad) looking to collect some debt, or his girlfriend Bobbie (Tracy Gray) stopping in, or everything surrounding Janey's marriage issues. The end result is Sam and Hilda, two near-retirees, having to set their kids straight and try to put them on a better path in life.
The cast of six really embraced their roles in this production, something very common in anything Equinox puts on. Stevens and Childerhose stood out as the stressed parents who can't believe they're still taking care of their kids' problems, and Guebert and Lee played the roles of 'adult children' very well. Adding to these great performances were Gray and Friggstad, whose respective roles as the musical beatnik Bobbie and well-spoken bookie Beverly were the cause of many laughs from the crowd.
Another aspect of the show that stood out was the set design, which can always be counted on to be immaculate and impressive.
Equinox is already in the planning stages of their next show, 'Anne of Green Gables', which will be taking place over the Canada Day long weekend.
