Theatre
Colours in the Dark
James Reaney · 1967
Synopsis
A play in two acts of twenty-one scenes each, with almost no narrative sequence. At its heart is a boy confined to his bed in the dark by measles; grown into a father, on his fortieth birthday, blindfolded, he makes out colours and faces. Memories pass: a grandmother hanging out the washing, a bear carrying off a child, a schoolmaster who whips pupils for a spelling mistake, a wedding. The actors play several roles, amid songs and projected images.
Context
The play was first performed in 1967, the centennial year, at the Avon Theatre of the Stratford festival; one note says it was commissioned by the festival for the occasion, another sees in it only a tribute to the centennial. It was the author's first play to make wide use of multimedia. The text appeared in 1969 from Talonbooks, in Vancouver, with a prefatory note in which the author describes it as a playbox.
Who it is for
A short text, to be read like a score: stage directions, songs and images count as much as the lines.
Prizes and reception
Its author's first professional success, well received at its premiere by the festival audience.
Sources for this page 14
The pages consulted to check this page.