Farther West

Photo by Cylla von Tiedemann.

For their 16th season, Soulpepper has revived veteran Canadian playwright John Murrell’s Farther West, on stage now at the Young Centre for Performing Arts. Based on the life of May Buchanan, a sex worker who traveled across Canada in the 1870s and 80s, Farther West premiered in 1982 at Theatre Calgary and went on to garner Murrell his second Chalmers Award.

Suitably for a play set against the daunting backdrop of the Western frontier, Murrell veers into epic territory in this simultaneously tragic and spirit-affirming portrayal of a formidable woman’s battle to remain unbroken in the face of a world that has no place for her. A decidedly operatic storyline complements the play’s cardinal themes of obsession, possession, and independence. Following a poignant opening scene in which May (Tara Nicodemo) nakedly reminisces about her storied past, in a nod to the genre, the cast greets the audience in song with “What happened next, dear Maise?” the pointed and sinister ditty that weaves its way throughout the first half of the play, implicitly begging the question of what can become of a woman married to her own freedom.

An elegant, minimalist, multi-purpose set perfectly evokes the epic scale and sense of unlimited space in which May is relentlessly pursued by deranged religious zealot Seward (Dan Lett) and well-meaning but unambitious Shepherd (Matthew MacFadzean), two lovers hell-bent on clipping her wings as she continues her flight west, away from “Presbyterians and horse piss, rules, laws and judges.” Murrell’s subtitle for the play, A Romance, again reveals a fondness for subverting genres, and provides a strong rebuke to the traditional idealization of male pursuit. The production’s adept use of music and lighting to both underscore the sinister nature of this pursuit, and to transport the audience through set changes is a nice touch.

The violent, often overwrought confrontations that dominate the second half of the play do not completely resonate with a modern audience inherently skeptical of epic tales and melodrama. However, under the direction of Diana LeBlanc, the actors deftly negotiate a very complex and challenging script, on the whole delivering convincing and moving performances. Thirty years after it was first performed, the playbill for Farther West makes reference to some of May Buchanan’s female contemporaries, among them Grace Lockhart, the first woman in the British Empire to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Lest we forget the world in which May fiercely refused to stop moving farther west.

Farther West runs until November 9 at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts. Visit soulpepper.ca for more information and to buy tickets.