Hilda's Yard

Metro Theater is one of the many amateur theater companies in the Lower Mainland of BC and it is, in my opinion, a hidden gem. This is the 55th season of Metro Theater and they have an outstanding lineup of plays for this year.

The first play of the season is one that my wife and I went to on Saturday night. The play was called Hilda's Yard. Set in 1956, it follows the Fluck family through one extraordinary day during which their son loses his job and moves back home, their daughter leaves her husband and moves back home and Sam Fluck, thinking that he and his wife Hilda are empty nesters now and can start to live their OWN lives, buys their first television set.

The generation gap between the parents and the children is large and what may seem like far out ideas to the parents are reasonable to the new generation. The contrast between generations and the difficulties in seeing a situation in someone else’s shoes, especially when your values are set in stone is a major theme in the play.

Hilda’s Yard is chock-full of Foster’s well-known humour, even as it delves into the depths of the serious issues of Gary’s post-traumatic stress disorder and Janey’s spousal abuse. The contradictions inherent in the quirky characters lead to many fine comedic moments.

In the end, despite the challenges of the day, ties of love, family, and friendship prevail and we come to understand a uniquely Canadian look at family dynamics, which really don't really change much over the years.

The play was fun to watch, the actor who plays Hilda fills the stage with her presence and I had no problem believing that she ruled the household. She could be very intimidating to her family and to her guests, one invited to dinner by her son and one not invited by her son. The uninvited guest is a small-time bookie who is trying to collect a debt from Hilda's son.

The actor who plays the father did a good job of convincing us that he was a nice guy, who was celebrating his new found "freedom" from his kids. However, in a scene with his daughter he showed the dark side of male attitudes in the 50's. He did in the final scene redeem himself and again showed that he was really a nice man.

I enjoyed the production and if you are in the Vancouver Area I really recommend that you go see it. Metro prices are very low and I understand that this play was on Groupon so the ticket price is even lower. However, be warned the number of tickets left on Groupon is limited. Without a discount, a ticket will only set you back $25.00 or if you are a senior tickets are only $22.00. One of the best deals in town.