communion | director's notes

It is nothing short of a big deal to have Roy Surette in town directing COMMUNION.  This native Vancouverite had his career take him out east, where he is currently serving as the Artistic Director of Centaur Theatre in Montreal.  Here are his thoughts on COMMUNION.

Certainty is a comfort few of us get to enjoy. In most of our choices and beliefs there is always the other option, the other possibility, the other road. Daniel MacIvor knows this well and often writes about the complexities of choice and the quest for deeper understanding. He explores the obsessions and neurosis of being consciously alive and he does this with humour and humanity often couched in wit and tenacity.

In Communion we meet a woman faced with her own mortality who is working to come to terms with her life and her relationships. It’s a hard journey and one that has impact on those around her. Although completely different from one another there is communion and compassion between her therapist and her daughter. It is very much about trying to live in the present and letting go of preconceptions. And from learning from one another.

As we work on Communion I am reminded just how wonderfully brave actors have to be and how their work is to channel and illuminate the struggles we all encounter. I am reminded of the wealth of talent that makes up the Vancouver theatre community. My thanks go out to these wonderful actors, designers and theatre personnel.

I want to thank Diane Brown for inviting me home to Vancouver to direct this beautiful play. I want to thank Ron Reed for once again demonstrating courage and openness in programming a play that explores faith and belief in various manifestations. And thank you for letting us share Communion with you.