(photo by Neil Silcox)
Exposing All, Right Down to Cell Level
by Keely Kwok
@kwokles
Grief, pain, loss, all feelings we’d rather suffocate below the surface than deal with on a regular basis. And yet, these are the elements of Hunter and Jake’s broken world in Jeff D’Hondt’s A Spirit’s Face.
The play follows the relationship between Hunter Stowe, an Aboriginal palliative care worker, and Jake Montour, an Aboriginal addictions counsellor. Hunter (Madison Walsh) idolizes her deceased father and would rather survive among the dying than deal with the living. Meanwhile Jake, (Cole Alvis), has yet to make an impact on any of his clients and lives with a debilitating panic disorder. Throughout the play Hunter and Jake pass the truth ball back and forth, taking turns revealing bits and pieces of their darkened past. Sounds cheery right? Despite the description, D’Hondt has infused the play with laugh-out-loud lines, particularly with Hunter. Humour is her coping mechanism and she delivers it with fantastic flare.
