The comic struggles of an author attempting to put the finishing touches on his latest novel, with a little too much help from the story’s offbeat cast of characters, forms the essence of the Grey Wellington Theatre Guild’s (GWTG) latest offering.
The guild is staging the original comedy Where Were We, My Darlings? by local playwright Megan Raftis as the fall production of the group’s 40th anniversary season.
GWTG founder Patrick C. Smith, who has a role in the show, is thrilled the guild was able to stage a story written by a homegrown writer as part of its 40th season.
Smith said it’s become a struggle in recent years to find something fresh to bring to the stage and “when I read this script I said we just have to do this.
“It’s an extremely funny play,” Smith added.
Raftis, a Harriston native, has performed numerous roles, both onstage and off in various guild productions since the age of seven. She has previously written four of the youth productions the guild has staged every summer since 2010.
“It’s really exciting to have the guild stage one of my plays as a full-scale production. It’s been quite an experience watching them bring it to life in rehearsals,” said Raftis.
The humour in the show revolves around the attempts of a writer to find a way to finish his book, careening through a variety of approaches and genres before discovering, to his surprise, the true key to the tale.
An experienced cast has been assembled for the production, including Patrick C. Smith, Dan Bieman and Patrick Raftis of Harriston, and Mount Forest and area residents Flora Burke, Roslyn Fortier and Sherry Campbell.
Where Were We, My Darlings? runs Nov. 28, 29, Dec. 4, 5 and 6 at 7:30pm and Nov. 30 at 2pm at the fully accessible Harriston Town Hall Theatre.
Tickets are available for $15 at Harriston Home Hardware, Walsh’s IDA (formerly Shoppers) in Mount Forest, or by calling the guild’s box office at 519-338-2778.
