Reviewed by James Karas
You, Always, the title of Erin Shields new play, may mean that you are always with me, supporting me or you always decide for me and dominate me. Both meanings apply to the play, subtitled “A portrait of sisterhood.” It has only two characters, Liz (Maev Beaty) and her sister Delia (Liisa Repo-Martell), and we are taken through a series of vignettes of their lives.
The play opens with the sisters bickering vociferously with the young Delia accusing Liz of always making decisions for both. The tone changes abruptly when Delia tells Liz that she is having her first period. The older sister takes over sympathetically helping the 13-year-old through the strange new experience.
The play goes through a lifetime of experiences of the two sisters through bickering, moments of love and the changes that come with growing up and aging. Liz becomes a lawyer, marries, has two children and experiences the slings and arrows that we are all heir to. Delia becomes a musician and does not marry but she has many sexual experiences perhaps with both sexes, and the two always manage to disagree and reconcile.
They take a bath together and they argue about who sits by the taps and gets the hot water (Liz) and who sits behind her and not happy about it. Their parents divorce, Liz becomes anorexic and they have difficulty communicating even when one of them wants to discuss issues that are important to her.
The final two scenes are pivotal to the play in expressing the love that keeps them going for a lifetime despite their disagreements and bickering. There is a flashback to Liz’s wedding where Delia is the maid of honour. She recaps many of the experiences of the sisters and sings a beautiful song about their relationship. The final scene is gut-wrenching when a very ill Liz has decided to end her pain and life by means of assisted death.
You, Always is minimalist theatre. It is done on a single set designed by Ting-Huan and Christine Urquart. The program is not clear. It could be one person. The set consists of what looks like a grey kitchen island, an oval representing a bathtub and a small mound used a a seat. There is rich use of lighting, designed by Andre du Toit. There is an episode of a Princess (Beaty) and a Wolf (Repo-Martell) which chase each other and dance around the stage. Its meaning escaped me. Stephanie Graham is credited with Choreography.
Most of the numerous vignettes change quickly and seamlessly and the chronology and the incidents related move very quickly. Liz is pregnant but is afraid to take time off work for fear of not being considered for promotion. When she becomes very ill, she wants to leave instruction to Deli
a about whom her husband may marry. There is some humour, some joy and, in the end, serious pathos.
Beaty and Repo-Martell give exquisite and nuanced performances in demanding roles that appear simple. They are not. All is done under the superb direction of Andrea Donaldson.
_____________________________
You, Always by Erin Shields, in a production by Canadian Stage, opened on February 4 and will run until February 22, 2026, at the Berkeley St. Theatre, 26 Berkeley St. Toronto, Ont. https://www.canadianstage.com/
