Theatre Preview: Plays for Alberta

By Fiona McLay

In celebration of Alberta’s Centennial the University of Calgary Drama Department is putting on two plays by Gwen Pharis Ringwood, one of Alberta’s most respected dramatists. Ringwood, a recipient of the Canadian Drama Award, the Eric Hamber Trophy, as well as honourary doctorates from the Universities of Victoria and Lethbridge, is best known for her depiction of the stark realities of prairie life. The two plays being presented, Pasque Flower and Still Stands the House are no exceptions.

“The stark background contributes to well drawn characters and interesting conflicts,” comments James Dugan, Professor of Canadian Drama at the U of C and director of the two plays, on the appeal of Ringwood’s work nearly 70 years later. “In accurately representing the Canadian prairie experience she was the first to emerge as a writer of continuing respect.”

Ringwood’s work is often lauded for succinctly conveying the universal in the particular. She possessed a unique ability to present common human emotions in a distinct setting.

“These tightly focused dramas offer realistic depictions of people under stress,” explains Dugan.

Pasque Flower, named after a perennial herb appearing in early spring, takes place on a farm where a grieving couple deals with the loss of a child. Their entire history is unraveling when the wife’s ex-lover unexpectedly shows up. A romance is briefly rekindled leaving her with a difficult decision about the two men in her life.

Still Stands the House is widely regarded as Ringwood’s best work and continues to be one of the most frequently performed Canadian one-act plays of the 21st Century. Widely anthologized, it has even been translated into Gaelic and broadcast in Ireland. It begins in the Depression where the future of a family farm is unsure. Bruce and his wife have decided to sell the house in the hope of providing their unborn child with a better future. However, Bruce’s spinster sister is not pleased with the decision. Before the family can sell, tragedy strikes and Bruce and his wife are knowingly sent to their deaths by the sister.

“These situations of strife are aggravated by farm life,” Dugan explains. “What makes them applicable to today’s audiences is that the conflicts are familiar.”

In a year where Alberta is celebrating its history, the selection of the two plays was a no brainer. Both Ringwood works are as Albertan as something can get.

“The characters and their experiences in Ringwood’s dramas are the foundations of our heritage,” Dugan says. “It was a heritage choice.”

Pasque Flower and Still Stands the House promise to express the realistic pulse of prairie life while marking the more poetic measures of it, fittingly illustrating what makes Alberta special.