Proud The Play by Michael Healey

Maev Beaty and Michael Healey in Proud. Photo by Sean Howard.

Sex, lies and distraction tactics are just a few of the backstage antics depicted in Michael Healey’s Proud, a new political comedy about Stephen Harper and the Conservative government on stage at the Berkeley Street Theatre.

Set in the Prime Minister’s office in Ottawa just after the spring 2011 election, the parody offers a behind-the-scenes peek at what really goes on in the House of Commons. In this version of events, all of the seats won by the NDP in Quebec have gone to the Conservatives, giving them a huge majority in parliament.

Harper (played by the brilliant Healey himself) and his deadpan chief of staff, Cary Baines (Tom Barnett), are conducting Tory business as usual when a rookie MP named Jisbella Lyth (the ever entertaining Maev Beaty) barges into the PM’s office looking for condoms. A single mother from the fictional Quebec riding of Cormier-Lac Poule, where she was the manager of a St. Hubert franchise, Ms. Lyth becomes a pawn in Harper’s plan to shrink the size of council. Little does he know, she has a few provocative ideas of her own.

Fluently staged, with spot-on set and costume design by Gillian Gallow, effective lighting by Kimberley Purtell and jazz-inspired sound design by Lyon Smith, Proud paints an honest and surprisingly sympathetic portrait of the man in charge of our country. Director Miles Potter gets sharp performances out of this first-rate cast, including Jeff Lillico in a small role as Jisbella’s grown-up son.

News junkies will appreciate the play’s subtler references, but you don’t have to “get” politics to enjoy this show. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud Canadian jokes to go around. Proud is a not-to-be-missed production.

Want to know more? Read our Q&A with Maev Beaty here.

Proud runs until Oct 6 at the Berkeley Street Theatre. Visit proudtheplay.com for more information and to buy tickets.