Playwright Neil Simon isn't afraid to show the ugly side of a character.
In Brighton Beach Memoirs, presented by Theatre North West April 19 to May 6, character Blanche is shown as a widowed, needy, weak, dependent woman, who's moved into her sister's already-crowded family home.
Linda A. Carson, who's taken on the challenge of playing Aunt Blanche in the comedy family drama, grew up in Prince George and is delighted to return as she still has family here -- her mom and two sisters. There's a strong pull when she walks into Theatre North West, she said with a smile, and a sense of pride in the successful professional theatre company comes over her.
The character Carson plays is a depression-era widow with two children.
"As Blanche, I try to find jobs but I can't because I have bad eye sight and asthma so we're all crammed into this one small house and it's a real family drama slash comedy. I grew up with three sisters and a brother so lots of the play rings quite true to me," said Carson. "It's about family dynamics in a pressure cooker. Thanks goodness for the young Jerome who brings out the humour it in all."
Brighton Beach Memoirs is a comedy set in 1937 Brooklyn where the busy Jerome household is cramping 15-year-old Eugene's style.
Eugene Jerome is a younger brother, a Yankees fan, and a fledgling writer.
All he wants to do is write the great American novel, pitch for the Yankees, and see a girl naked--well, not necessarily in that order.
This coming of age story is classic Theatre North West, with close examination of family issues and relationships; of a young man's search for identity; and even of the challenges faced during hard economic times. Perhaps Neil Simon's best play, Brighton Beach Memoirs is a hilarious and touching portrait of family life.
At 10 years old Carson, who graduated from Vancouver's Studio 58, began acting lessons with the late Josie Smith and has been a professional actor and writer for 25 years.
"Josie ran a little theatre company out of her basement called Wonderland Players and out of that group of kids who went through with me and students from years before -- lots became professional actors," Carson said, who grew up on Burden Street before there were pulp mills -- and when graders smoothed out the potholes on the gravel roads every spring. "They were fabulous lessons and once a year we'd do a play and tour it to some schools and that's when I caught the bug. I have to confess that my parents put me in acting lessons because they were tired of me acting around the house and once they put me in the acting lessons I calmed down around the house."
This is Carson's third time performing at Theatre North West, performing in The Melville Boys and Western Edition, as well.
"I think I was one of the first people to call Ted [Price, former artistic director of TNW and current director of Brighton Beach Memoirs] when they opened Theatre North West and tell him I'd like to audition for him so I could come work in Prince George. I love working with him. Ted manages to draw out the depth of the situation as he directs."
Tickets for Brighton Beach Memoirs are available at Books & Co., 1685 Third Avenue or call 250- 614-0039.
