- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

When the actors have to wait until the audience stops laughing to deliver their next lines, you know you have a comedy hit.
That's what happened during The Long Weekend at the Roxy on its opening weekend. The Norm Foster favourite is the last of Owen Sound Little Theatre's season of comedy, and the experienced cast is definitely leaving them laughing.

The play takes place at a couple's brand new country home where they are welcoming a long-time friend of the wife's and her husband to spend the weekend. All the familiar ticks and foibles of years of marriage are on full display.

Director Bill Murphy says that everyone who has ever been in a long-term relationship, or seen one up close, will identify with the humour in The Long Weekend. “I've never worked on a play where the crew laughed so hard,” Murphy said, “and they were still laughing even after they'd heard the same line over and over.”

Because the cast is small and everything takes place in one room, Murphy had to give them reasons for movement – to draw the focus of the audience around the set. And what a set. Designer Paul Nicholson came in with a pile of Architectural Digests under his arm, with suggestions to give the home a contemporary, high-end look. He has made use of the full height of the stage area to make the living space appear even more spacious.

All OSLT productions are community collaborations. Some plays require well-worn period furniture but this needed a contemporary designer look. Rhonda Kirk of Home Decor and More supplied just such pieces, (and apparently if you like the furniture you see on stage, you can own some theatre history!) The art on the set is the work of the Walter's Falls Group of Artists.

Like all OSLT plays, what you see on stage is only the tip of the iceberg. There are far more people involved that the audience doesn't see. Murphy says they work in teams, so members experienced in props, wardrobe or set building can mentor people who are new to the scene. The first play of Season 59 – Sister Act – has just held its first rehearsal, so there is an opportunity for you to join in.

The Long Weekend runs this Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 at the Roxy Theatre, 251 9th St. East Tickets are available in person at the box office, by phone (519) 371-2833 or on-line.

Photos by Cory Laycock Photograhy