Circus atmosphere key element in Two Planks' "Jerome"

BY WENDY ELLIOTT

welliott@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Two Planks and a Passion Theatre is about to launch the second play in its ‘Off The Grid’ season. Both are set in 1901.

Bestselling author Ami McKay (The Birth House) spent time in residence with the theatre after she was commissioned to create a play based on an enduring Nova Scotia mystery, the story of Jerome. His is the tale of an apparently mute man who washes ashore on a Bay of Fundy beach, his legs amputated.

Jerome: the Historical Spectacle opens Saturday, Aug. 2 in an outdoor setting at Ross Creek Centre for the Arts.

Director Ken Schwartz says Jerome’s tale might sound dour, but prospective audience members need to know that the cast is a group of sideshow performers.

“It’s not naturalistic. In fact, it’s a nice stretch after Our Town. This style of performance is really fun for the company,” he says.

According to Schwartz, Jerome’s story is told by another group of outsiders who understand his position as an outsider in rural Nova Scotia society.

Inspiration from old newspaper clippings

A first time playwright, McKay says she found her inspiration in old newspaper clippings, like one from the Yarmouth Times from June 19, 1899 when Jerome was to be exhibited.

“Jerome, the unfortunate individual whose name has appeared in every Canadian and American newspaper at various times for many years, will shortly visit Yarmouth.

“A short time ago a lady who resides in New York claimed him as a brother,” continued the old clipping. “It would not be surprising if Jerome, who is a charge of the Nova Scotia government, finds his way to the United States and once there would make a fortune in the various dime museums throughout the country.”

Sparked by that circus-like reference, McKay said, the ghosts of his truths and his myths got under her skin. “What began as an exercise in historical observation has turned into a journey of unexpected twists and turns.”

The Two Planks production, she noted, has been a fantastic trek into the wilds of theatre. “If I didn't look up and witness all the spectacular, wild and important things the director, actors and crew have pointed out along the way, I would have definitely missed the point of the journey.”

Jerome previews Friday and opens Saturday at 6 p.m. It will run until Aug. 17 with matinees Aug. 7, 9, 14 and 15 at 2 p.m. Call the box office at 582-3073 to reserve.

Schwartz adds that weather hasn’t proved a problem for outdoor theatre so far this summer. “The fog has been no trouble. We haven’t lost a show because we have our own microclimate on the other side of the mountain.”

The artistic director wonders whether gas prices are keeping patrons away. “I can’t imagine they are helping, but people who are looking for a special experience come anyway. Our audience numbers are in the middle of the road.”