The Foster Festival Review: A witty ensemble comedy offers the perfect introduction to Canada’s most prolific playwright
By Ross
When the week started out in Niagara-on-the-Lake, I had no idea that I would find myself driving to St. Catharines’ Ridley College campus to see a play. I didn’t even know that was an option, until it was casually suggested to me by a good friend who lives here. I had never heard of The Foster Festival before this summer, even though it now celebrates its eleventh season. But more surprising is that I had somehow managed to miss the work of Norman Foster altogether, a remarkable feat, considering he has written more than seventy-five plays and is often described as Canada’s most-produced playwright. So, walking into the Mandeville Theatre at Ridley College felt like I was opening the door to an entirely new theatrical world, the kind of theatrical discovery I hadn’t experienced in quite some time.
The Long Weekend turns out to be a delightful place to begin, introducing both Foster’s gift for conversational comedy and the welcoming spirit of a festival devoted to celebrating Canadian storytelling. The premise is wonderfully simple. Max and Wynn have invited their longtime friends Roger and Abby to spend a relaxing weekend at their new country home. Before their guests have settled comfortably into the living room, the cracks in their connection begin to show. Max, played with wonderfully understated precision by Tyrone Savage (StratFest’s Love’s Labour’s Lost), can barely conceal his dread over the visit, while Caitlin Driscoll’s Wynn, although affirming her love and dear affection for her long-time friend, cannot stop betraying her own nervousness.
Entering in with some hesitation, Claire Jullien‘s Abby proves equally skilled at disguising pointed observations beneath polite conversation. It’s quite the act, it turns out, especially once her husband, Roger, played hysterically well by Darren Keay, settles into his own brand of poking. Keay delivers many of the evening’s biggest laughs as Roger, whose finely timed physical comedy constantly threatens to derail whatever fragile civility remains. These four characters know each other so well that every compliment seems to arrive with a hidden backhanded barb, every sharp smile carries old history, and every shared memory becomes another opportunity to reopen long-forgotten wounds.
Foster’s script delights in those broad shifting loyalties. Foster turns their conversations into an elegant fencing match. It is played with precision between these so-called friends, where each character instinctively knows exactly where to prod, tease, and provoke without ever entirely abandoning the affection that first brought them together. Foster keeps shifting the alliances just enough to keep everyone, including the audience, happily off balance, even if some of the situations feel rooted in another era.
Director Liz Gilroy (UCPlayhouse’s Boeing Boeing) keeps the evening moving at an energetic, playful pace, although I occasionally wished the performances trusted the intimacy of the Mandeville Theatre a little more. At times the emotional temperature rises beyond what the room requires, yet the cast’s chemistry never falters. Beckie Morris’s beautifully appointed country home immediately establishes a comfortable world worth spending time in, while Alex Amini’s costumes effortlessly reinforce each personality. Together, the whole team quietly underpins the comedy without ever distracting from the performers.
What stayed with me most was not simply The Long Weekend, but the welcoming spirit of The Foster Festival itself. They embrace the pleasures of conversation, recognizable personalities, and the wonderfully complicated friendships that can survive decades of accumulated grievances. I arrived curious about a festival and a playwright I had somehow overlooked, and I left wondering how I had waited this long. After one long weekend in Norm Foster’s company, I’m already looking forward to the next.