Funny farm

Martin Julien plays Allan and Jenny Parsons is Charlotte in Festival Players production of Ken Cameron’s comedic play Harvest. Photo: Michael Grills

Strong performances, disarming story help reap rich Harvest

I wasn’t sure about theatre under a tent— especially with an eight year old taking in the production with me. Too many distractions, I thought. The simple set and the lush vineyards, a brilliant green under the setting sun, only added to my preconceived angst . Yet the wonderful production of Michel Tremblay’s For the Pleasure of Seeing Her Again earlier this season, along with rave reports for In the Wake, had compelled me to see Festival Players latest production, Harvest, on opening night.

I am glad I suppressed my anxiety about the venue, for this was a wonderful production— cleverly written, relentlessly funny and remarkably performed. Furthermore, the setting enriched the story—and in any event the performances soon captured the audience’s imagination. Like all good theatrical venues, it soon vanished into the background—the play was the thing.

Harvest is a charmingly sweet and richly comedic take on the decision to let go of the family farm. While the work never takes itself too seriously—Harvest gently nudges the audience to consider the nature of our relationships and connections as time imposes change upon us. These are familiar and recognizable characters but the writing and the performers don’t allow them to become clichés.

Martin Julien gives a sharp and energetic performance switching breathlessly, and credibly, from character to character. Jenny Parsons is simply brilliant—turning every phrase, every movement into a richer embodiment of the characters she portrays. Parsons’s comic timing is impeccable as is her elegant portrayal of a character whose job it is to ground this couple as the move through their journey.

Audiences and cast seemed to truly enjoy themselves watching the story unfold—waiting for the next comic gem to reveal itself. And when the conflict was resolved and the story near an end—both my eight year old and I were sad to say goodbye to the characters we had come to know.

Harvest continues at Rosehall Run Winery on Greer Road until August 25. See festivalplayers.ca for performance details.