The Flood Thereafter

Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster in The Flood Thereafter. Photo by Bruce Zinger.

Emotions run deep in The Flood Thereafter, a whimsical play about love, lust and jealousy by Québécois playwright Sarah Berthiaume, now on stage in a sensual new production that kicked off Canadian Stage's season last week at the Berkeley Street Theatre.

The play is inspired by the sirens in Homer's Odyssey, and tells the story of June (Courtney Ch'ng Lancaster), a young woman who performs a nightly strip show in the "Emotions" bar in a small fishing community in the Lower Saint Lawrence region of Quebec, while all of the townsmen watch and weep. She is the daughter of Grace (Patricia Marceau), a mysterious sea siren who washed up on the beach and slept with all of the local men (much to the chagrin of the local wives) and anyone of them could be June's father. The tale of Grace and June and their relationship with the townsmen is told by Penelope (Maggie Huculak), the wife of Homere (W. Joseph Matheson), a fisherman who fell under their powerful spell. She relates this fantastical tale to Denis (Kevin MacDonald), a visiting trucker, as he finds himself stranded in the strange town and unable resist the charm of the siren song. 

Yannik Larivee's salt-washed set is divided into three parts: the Emotions bar, Grace's cafe constructed from a teetering pile of furniture strewn together like driftwood, and Penelope's house where she cuts hair to make wigs for June—all of these elements are squeezed into the small Berkeley downstairs space and surrounded by beach rocks under the shadow of a fishing boat suspended from the rafters. Combined with magical lighting by Bonnie Beecher and sound design by John Gzowski, the visual effect is mesmerizing. 

Director Ker Wells gets compelling performances out of the cast, particularly Huculak as the quietly jealous Penelope, and the chemistry between Ch'ng Lancaster's June and MacDonald's Denis is simply electrifying. The staging is somewhat clunky due to the tight space, but the production still manages to transport the audience to a mythical realm, a place that feels very contemporary and real. Call it a fairytale for grown-ups. 

The Flood Thereafter runs until October 6 at the Berkeley Street Theatre. Visit canadianstage.com for more information and to buy tickets. 

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Q&A: The Flood Thereafter

Ker Wells on directing Canadian Stage production of Sarah Berthiaume's mythic fable