SummerWorks 2012: Breathe For Me—A Finely Aged Love Story

Peggy Mahon and Debora Kipp in Breathe For Me.

A black and white photograph sits proudly in a frame on a side table. The photo shows two teenaged girls on roller skates, both giggling uncontrollably, one girl holding on to the other’s elbow. The picture looks as though it was taken in the 1950s, and as the audience meets the two elderly women in Breathe For Me—A Finely Aged Love Story, it is clear that this photo is of them. Now playing at this year’s SummerWorks Performance Festival, Breathe for Me is a high-strung, intense look at a friendship that has stood the test of time.

Edna (Peggy Mahon) and Edith (Deborah Kipp) have been friends for over 50 years. Edna, an epileptic alcoholic, is now in a wheelchair and requires Edith to play the role of caregiver, standing by while she endures seizures and taking her to and from the toilet as needed. Edith is trying desperately to convince Edna to go to the doctor, hoping that the doctor’s assessment will allow Edna to live more comfortably for the short time she has left. Stubbornly, Edna refuses, and instead tries to distract Edith by boasting about how she was responsible for the creation of the “special sauce” at McDonald’s, where she worked for years. From the dialogue between the two women, the audience learns that Edith is estranged from her son Tyler, due to her own battle with alcoholism which led to her absence from much of his young life. Neither woman is perfect, but it is their imperfections that endear them to both the audience and to each other.

The relationship between the two women is clearly very complex, as they have lived together for so long and no doubt love one another, but also know how to drive each other crazy. Although Edna has a sharp tongue and does not hold back her criticism of Edith, she is completely vulnerable during her intense seizures, which happen frequently throughout the production. During these seizures, the love between these two women is very apparent, as Edith kneels before Edna’s wheelchair, saying, “Breathe for me” gently as she counts the elapsed time of the episodes on a stopwatch. Mid-story, an idea comes up between the women that will change the way they understand one another, and this portion of the production is performed brilliantly by both Mahon and Kipp.

The lighter moments of Breathe for Me include the memories that Edna and Edith share of their younger days spent giggling and having fun. These memories would have been more effective if they had been performed by a younger Edith and Edna, offering the audience a true glimpse into the past. The photograph on the bedside table plays an important role, as the women refer to it continuously, remembering how their cheeks were much rosier back in those days. Overall, Breathe for Me is a moving story, illustrating the inner workings of a longtime friendship that resembles a marriage in many ways.

Breathe for Me runs until August 19 at the Factory Theatre Mainspace. Visit SummerWorks.ca for more information and to buy tickets.

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