After being captivated by the work of playwright Christine Quintana, Belfry Theatre’s artistic director Michael Shamata asked if she would write something entirely new for the Belfry Theatre.
The result is As Above, a play set in Victoria that deals with the timely issue of addiction and which makes its anticipated premiere Feb. 6 to March 3.
Jo, the main character, is eight years sober and attempting to rebuild the life she destroyed. Once a prominent botanical researcher, she now lectures at a horticultural centre, while exploring a new relationship with the too-good-to-be-true Rick. Soon, a mysterious phone call triggers an urgent quest to find her daughter, leading to unexpected intersections between her research and personal life.
The topic of addiction is a complicated but prevalent issue in our society, and that’s why she chose it as a topic for the play, Quintana said.
“There is such a stigma about addiction as a form of moral failure somehow, but it’s also normalized and even facilitated by our modern society,” she said, using phone addiction as an example.
To put addiction into a local perspective, alcohol-related deaths have risen by over one-fifth, or 21 per cent, since the beginning of the pandemic and Victoria is currently in an opioid crisis.
For Quintana, those statistics aren’t just a number as she has seen first-hand how friends and family have been marginalized.
“I have had friends and family who have struggled with addiction, and those who have gotten sober have incredible stories to tell and wisdom to share. I wanted to write something that honoured the tremendous effort it takes to become sober and to extend compassion and hope to those living with addiction while also honouring the devastating pain and destruction that addiction brings to the lives of addicts and those who love them.”
Shamata said in a statement that the play is full of compassion and that the relationship between Jo and Rick is unlike any he has seen onstage before.
Quintana is grateful that Shamata entrusted her to create this piece with no set parameters.
“I have family in Victoria and love the Belfry very much, and was so excited by the opportunity. Michael said – ‘anything’ – which is both a blessing and a curse as a creative person! Luckily the seed of As Above was already growing in my heart and mind.
“I wrote lots of this play in the actual belfry of the Belfry Theatre, in a lovely, sun-filled room at the very top of the tower. I’d leave windows open on both sides to hear the sounds of the square, feel the breeze pass through the room, and watch the trees all around me. I’ll cherish that space forever, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity.”
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