Ten Best Lists

[Gaetan Charlebois]

What I don't understand is why, with all these divergent backgrounds we
still all: watch the last episode of Seinfeld, hockey night in Canada,
Princess Di's marriage and funeral, coverage of Littleton but, for some odd
reason, don't see the same plays.

We may or may not agree on plays in this forum, but out there, where people
are voting on this, people across the country know who George F. Walker and
Michel Tremblay are. (And, BTW, Guillermo Verdecchia and Frank Moher too). I
think the very concept of theatre - a number of people sitting in a hall
responding - lays waste to this argument that people don't have favourites
and don't react as a group. The average Canadian city (which goes into
making the average Canadian audience) is very diverse (granted, at some
theatres less than others) and they often, together, go to a play. And like
it or hate it and say, sometimes, "That's the best play I've seen."

I have read/seen two plays in ten years that have stopped me in my tracks
and they were both Canadian: Motel Helene by Serge Boucher and Inexpressible
Island by David Young. I have absolutely no shame when I say this and you
take from the statement what you wish.

The idea of the list - and publishing the results - is to get people talking
about theatre. Period.

Gaetan
----------
>From: Alex Hawkins <jhawkins at GPU.SRV.UALBERTA.CA>
>To: CANDRAMA at LISTSERV.UNB.CA
>Subject: Re: Ten Best Lists
>Date: Wed, May 5, 1999, 11:51 AM
>

> Gaetan et al,
>
> I think that Reid is right, that because each of us is from a different
> part of the country, and has come to Canadian theatre and drama from a wide
> variety of backgrounds, and each of us has his/her own tastes and
> predispositions, it's impossible even to establish any standards by which
> to agree with any selection of "favourites".  Gaetan brings up in his
> latest message the problem of anthologies:  in each of the Canadian drama
> anthologies I've perused over the years, my reaction is always the same:
> "What!!?!! They didn't include _____?!?"  Which says something about the
> problem.
>
> When I was in university in Calgary in the 1960s, there was a lot of
> resistance to teaching Canadian plays, and most of my professors (American
> and English, mainly) would say, "Well, when somebody writes the great
> Canadian play, we'll teach it."  And of course, all of us students,
> ignorant as we were, and excitedly reading Pinter, Beckett, and Albee at
> the time, sagely agreed with this dopey sentiment.  Little did I know, that
> if and when the great Canadian play would be written, the artistic
> directors, CBC producers, and anthology editors of Canada wouldn't know it
> if they fell over it in the dark.
>
> In 1976, I believe I read the great Canadian play:  it is a play by Beverly
> Simons, called *Crabdance*.  Gaetan: talk about excited!! I couldn't
> believe how wonderful this play was.  It struck me that it must have been
> like Roger Blin and Alan Schneider and Barney Rosset reading *Waiting for
> Godot* for the first time - it was a revelation, and I still think it is
> one of the great Canadian plays.  So, having said that, I would love to be
> able to see all your faces and hear all your reactions - I imagine some of
> you are saying, What the heck is he talking about?  or even, Never heard of
> it.  Which illustrates and proves Reid's point.
>
> I like what Frank Moher has suggested:  that everybody send in a list of
> their favourite Canadian plays - no number stipulated, no other conditions,
> just the raw lists - and post them for everybody's perusal.  We might not
> establish the Top Ten, but at least we'd know what some of the commonalties
> are, and whether there is any consensus out there.
>
> Best wishes,
> John A. Hawkins
>