The girls next door
Divorcee finds therapy in rotating cast of female neighbours
Jen Zoratti

Sometimes you take a role for reasons beyond the fact that it’s a great part.

Such was the case for Toronto-based actor Richard Waugh, who decided to audition for Prairie Theatre Exchange’s season-closing presentation of Here on the Flight Path out of fondness for its director, Rosemary Dunsmore. The Norm Foster-penned romantic comedy is certainly witty, but Waugh says he was mostly attracted because of the person behind it.

“I’ve always really respected her as an actor, and I wanted to see what she was like as a director — and I was blown away,” Waugh says.

Under the direction of Dunsmore, Waugh will play recent divorcee John, who over a period of years recovers from his divorce by befriending a rotating cast of female tenants who move into the apartment next door. It’s a role that allows Waugh to try his hand as a leading man — a rarity for the self-proclaimed role player.

“It was an opportunity to take the front, to carry the show, which is something I seldom do,” Waugh says. “I was nervous, though. I kept thinking, ‘If the girl’s no good then the whole thing will fall apart.’”

Thankfully, the girl in question is very good. Winnipeg playwright and actress Sharon Bajer assumes all three female leads in the two-person show — and Waugh’s nerves about his co-star were quickly put to rest.

“She has a tough job in this one because she plays three distinct characters, each of whom need to teach John something — and she’s brilliant,” Waugh says.

Waugh insists that Dunsmore’s direction has allowed both him and Bajer to create nuanced characters.

“In a lot of ways, John could be construed as a sitcom kind of guy,” Waugh says. “He’s the kind of guy that doesn’t get women, possibly drinks too much and has his own theories.

“But there’s something to get in touch with in Norm’s characters, especially his men. The aspects of John change with each woman he’s around, and I think that’s true of everyone.”

That said, don’t expect any huge sociological revelations about relationships between males and females — Here on the Flight Path is meant to be fun.