With world premiere of Instantaneous Blue, Mitch and Murray Productions celebrates 10th anniversary, to January 22
Playwright Aaron Craven’s semi-autobiographical portrait of a family’s struggle with dementia is the company’s first original Canadian work
Tom McBeath and Patti Allan, Instantaneous Blue. Photo by Shimon Photo
Mitch and Murray Productions presents Instantaneous Blue from January 6 to 22 at The Waterfront Theatre; a post-show talkback hosted by Alzheimer Society of B.C. takes place on January 15
THE STRESSES OF being a member of the “sandwich generation”—referring to those who are raising a young family while helping their aging and ailing parents—are immense and complex. Add in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and things only get harder.
Playwright Aaron Craven can attest to the toll of parenting kids and his own parents at the same time. His mom and dad simultaneously fell into decline with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. His experience as a member of the sandwich generation, along with his background as a theatre curator and his advocacy work in the world of dementia, formed the catalyst for his new work, Instantaneous Blue.
Premiering as part of Mitch and Murray Productions’ 10th-anniversary season, the play follows Edward and Sara as they navigate the journey of welcoming their first child into life while shepherding his declining parents out of it. The couple’s relationship is strained as they deal with the effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s while trying to figure out how to be parents.
“The actress Carrie Fisher once said, ‘Take your broken heart and turn it into art’. I guess I listened,” Craven says in a release of Mitch and Murray Productions’ first original Canadian work. “This play was written to give voice to those living the dementia journey and to take the experience out of the shameful shadows and into the dignified light. There will be some laughs, some tears, and hopefully some shared catharsis.”
Directed by David Mackay, Instantaneous Blue features performances by Patti Allan, Tom McBeath, Charlie Gallant, Olivia Hutt, Leslie Dos Remedios, Jesse Miller, and Eric Breker.
Tickets ($15 to $35) and more details are at mitchandmurrayproductions.com. Partial proceeds from every performance will be donated to Alzheimer Society of B.C.
Aaron Craven. Photo by Shimon Photo
