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Spotlight On... Sean Reycraft

One Good MarriageSean Reycraft knows how to make a marriage work. His newest play One Good Marriage is being remounted this October at Toronto’s Theatre Passe Muraille after a successful run earlier this year. Equal parts wry wit and sad truth, Reycraft doesn’t shy away from the disasters that can occur between two people. Here, Naomi Skwarna talks with Reycraft about his play – and finds out what it just might mean.

NS: Your play used to be called One Good Marriage, That One That One. Although that title has now changed, the irony remains. What does the name of the play mean to you?

SR: It’s a simple title -- just like the language of the play. It refers to a very “real” relationship between two people, with equal parts animosity and love.

NS: A simple premise: a married couple on their first anniversary talkin’ about their wedding, the honeymoon—and something that happened in between. This thing that effects Steph and Stewart so drastically, what inspired you have it occur specifically to these two people?

SR: I wrote the play for Jeff Miller and Mary Francis Moore, and they’re the inspiration behind a lot of the characters. But I also wanted to write about something extraordinary happening to two nice, normal, slightly-depressed people. “What’s the worst thing I can do to them”, I thought. “Then let’s see how they claw back from this...”

NS: Do you think it may actually have helped them?

SR: You bet. There’s a line Steph says: “I thought -- let’s use our honeymoon to really get to know each other.”. Stewart and Steph come to love only because of what happens to them.

NS: Are you commenting on marriage, or on how people relate with each other?

SR: I wanted to write about the feeling of looking across at whoever you’ve “chosen” to be with and wondering, “How the hell do I even begin to talk to this person?”

NS: In your other plays, i.e. Pop Song, you are so good at defining the little details involved when two people connect (or don’t) with each other. What would you say fascinates you most about the choices your characters make?

SR: The tiniest of decisions hold huge dramatic consequence. And the blissful emotional denial that comes with blinding yourself by details.

NS: Do you like Steph and Stewart?

SR: I love them. I think they have problems with themselves -- which is like saying I have a problem with myself. Which is like saying I need therapy. What was the question again?

NS: What sort of audience response are you hoping for? What do you want them to walk away with?

SR: I wanted to write a story -- a simple story. So I hope audiences find humour and are moved in Stewart and Steph’s tale. And if they’re creeped out a little bit -- hey, that’s a happy bonus.

NS: How has the production changed in its various runs?

SR: The relationship between Stewart and Steph (as portrayed by Jeff and MF) has grown stronger -- their intimate moments, more specifically. You really believe they’ve been through something horrible -- and not just the backstage bathroom at Theatre Passe Muraille.

NS: Hee hee. Even though the play was written close to three years ago, did you understand everything about it right from the start? Did you make any new discoveries in watching it performed?

SR: With a play like this, I don’t even want to start analyzing where it came from. That’s when I start to get a little worried...

NS: As a playwright, what do you feel are the most important elements in your work?

SR: Humour. Humanity.

NS: Do you have any other projects in mind?

SR: Two plays, one musical. I’d like to write a ghost story, but in a way -- One Good Marriage is it. I’m also writing for film now, and have just adapted a book called Breakfast With Scot by an American, Michael Downing.

NS: Which playwrights or artists have influenced, inspired, or effected you in your life (as an artist, and person).

SR: As a teen, Timothy Findley. Shakespeare was big with me for a while. Equity Showcase’s 1990 (?) production of Three Sisters changed my life. Albee makes me uncomfortable because I think I “get it”. And right now I have to say I’m loving Noel Coward’s comedies -- it’s great when people can be completely evil and utterly loveable at the same time...

One Good Marriage
One Good Marriage

Sean Reycraft
Steph and Stewart are celebrating their first anniversary; however, rather that being a time of happiness, the occasion brings terrible sorrow. Blackly hilarious and deeply moving, this vivid two-hander moves from pathos to humour and back again as a tragic story is revealed, and the need for community is expressed. M-1, F-1. Softcover, 71 pp. $12.95.

Shakin' the Stage
Shakin' the Stage

Plays by Paul Dunn, Adam Pettle, Sean Reycraft, and Kate Rigg
Theatre Direct Canada
"Provocative drama for young adult audiences."An important collection that offers a powerful tool for young actors, high school drama classes and professional theatre artists who want to explore the authentic voices and stories of young artists.

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