Final summer show, a hard blowing success for Village Theatre

It can be tricky to mount a two-person theatrical stage production.

Obvious questions include: Can the duo carry the entire show?

Can they keep audiences sufficiently engaged and invested and not longing for a merciful end?

Can the dialogue and story make up for the fact that no other characters grace the stage to break up the monotony?

In the case of the Hudson Village Theatre’s final production of the summer season, the answers in all regards are yes.

Storm Warning, for those who have not already gleaned, is a two-person romantic comedy written by Canadian playwright, Norm Foster.

Set in post World War II 1953, the play focuses exclusively on Jack and Emma, opposites in almost every sense of the word.

From the moment that she bursts onto the stage, Emma, played perfectly by Heidi Waters, leaves little doubt that she’s a hard living, seen-it-all woman with a penchant for early morning beer guzzling and a fondness for “salty” language.

Jack, brought to understated life by Daniel Giverin, on the other hand, is a war vet with a sketchy past who seems content to let life pass him by altogether.

When the two are thrown together during a calm-before-the-storm weekend in the woods, reluctantly shared confidences peel away the characters’ layers as the story unfurls with help from Foster’s snappy, well-paced dialogue.

During opening night this week, Waters comic timing, reminiscent of a modern Lucille Ball, kept the production going while she displayed range with subtle yet stirring facial expressions during a moving monologue by Giverin.

At one point Giverin, overtaken by Waters’ funny repartee, had to turn his face from the audience in order to maintain his understated character.

Giverin’s portrayal of mild-mannered Jack was moving, and at times, funny in its own right.

As the story unfolds, it’s easy to become invested in Storm Warning, even as the laughs fly toward an unexpected ending.

Norm Foster’s romantic comedy Storm Warning will run until August 31.

To contact the Hudson Village Theatre, located at 28 Wharf Road, Hudson, or to buy tickets call 450-458-5361, or go to www.villagetheatre.ca