Surreal Suspicions
Mystery man gets mistaken for a dead fish
Janice Sawka

One of the most enduring archetypes of modern fiction is the ‘mysterious stranger,’ a lone figure, usually male, who arrives in town and somehow changes everyone he encounters. From mysteries to Westerns to science fiction, entire subsets of genres have been predicated on this plot.

Get ready to add another story to the list — or, to be precise, a play. Girl in the Goldfish Bowl, the first production on the PTE stage in 2006, is the story of 11-year-old Iris, who’s simultaneously mourning the death of her pet goldfish and the disintegration of her parents’ marriage.

On the day the goldfish dies, a mysterious man appears on the beach near Iris’ home.

Because it’s the height of the Cold War in 1962, the adults think he must be a Russian spy, at worst, or an escaped mental patient, at best. But Iris, in her innocence and good heart, offers the man shelter in her home. She believes he may be the reincarnation of her beloved pet, and maybe just the person to save her family.

“It’s definitely surreal,” says Edmonton actor Jeff Haslam who plays the mysterious Mr. Lawrence. Haslam’s last Winnipeg appearance was at the 2004 Fringe Festival, where he wowed audiences playing another mysterious drifter, the lead character of one of the smash hits of the Fest, the excellent Pith!

“There is certainly the element of danger and mystery — who is this guy? But the focus is really on Iris and her hope to repair her parents’ marriage,” Haslam explains. “It’s sad. It’s so typical of kids in that situation; they want so hard to make things right. And Mr. Lawrence is wounded himself. When the audience first meets him, he has washed up on this beach and has obviously just escaped from somewhere — maybe a hospital, maybe prison. He can barely finish a sentence. Then Iris makes him into this potential hero. He knows he’s no hero. But he doesn’t want to disappoint her.”

The play, produced in association with the Belfry Theatre of Victoria, B.C., has an impressive pedigree. It won the 2003 Governor General’s Award, and the playwright is Morris Panych, best know for his dialogue-free fantasy The Overcoat, which played Manitoba Theatre Centre in 2000 and was adapted for a CBC television special. Haslam, who played Mr. Lawrence in Victoria, describes the show as “endlessly fascinating” for both audience and actors.

“As an actor, this was a great part. Mr. Lawrence is such a blank page. He’s phenomenally enigmatic, and Panych gives almost no stage directions for him in the text. This means that anyone who plays him gets to make the role their own, which is immensely rewarding — scary too, but rewarding.”

Almost as rewarding, it turns out, as a return trip to Winnipeg.

“Oh, Pith! was such a fabulous experience,” says Haslam. “It was only my second time in Winnipeg. I’d played in the 1989 Fringe also. Winnipeg audiences — you know, Edmonton audiences too — are just incredible and welcoming. There’s something about those northern cities .

“I’m so glad to be back here and to do so in such a clever play.”