l-r Eleanor Noble, Clare Coulter (photo: lucetg.com)
Family Pictures
by Rebecca Ugolini
In the oppressive August heat, family tensions come to a boil and secrets and scandals rise to the surface. August: an Afternoon in the Country is an unflinching portrayal of one family’s journey across familiar terrain, the well-worn, cyclical conflicts, celebrations and dramas that make up romantic, platonic, and blood relationships.
The Centaur Theatre’s 2012-2013 opening night presentation of August is also the English-language debut of playwright Jean Marc Dalpé’s acclaimed French-language script, and neither Maureen Labonté’s lively translation nor director Harry Standjofski’s fine cast disappoint.
Audience members will love August for its true-to-life portrayal of the nature of family conflicts: although it’s natural to hope for a resolution to the tragedies portrayed onstage, like a hot summer’s day that eventually loses steam and fades into a humid, black night, August leaves its broken relationships and hurt feelings hanging in the balance, unresolved, hoping for a better tomorrow, but with only the cold and deadness of autumn on the horizon.
