The ultimate test of any great theatre script lies in its second production. Though unfortunately sporting the same director as the original 2023 Stratford run and its 2024 Soulpepper transfer and thus perhaps not as thought through from the drawing board as I may have liked, playwright Nick Green’s glorious Casey & Diana is currently playing at Hamilton’s Theatre Aquarius with a totally new cast for the first time ever (only Diana changed between Stratford and Soulpepper). Featuring in the current or upcoming seasons of a slew of companies across Canada, Casey & Diana has quickly become a ubiquitous modern classic and its staying power through this first major test proves it has the legs to deserve that title.
Green’s script is sharp, funny, and emotionally devastating- a trio of descriptors made all the more powerful by their coexistence. The play’s semi-fantastical structure does rely somewhat on a moment you might reductively call a twist and it’s hard to imagine the impact of a first viewing ever being completely replicated but there’s so much value elsewhere in the work that, even with the slightly diminished returns of repeat viewing, Casey & Diana remains the most affecting piece of Canadian theatre writing in memory.
Theatre Aquarius’ cast is a mixed bag but the range of quality in the performances is actually illuminating for the future potential of the text (especially if directorial reimagining doesn’t appear to be in the cards anytime soon). It’s a joy to see the great Gregory Prest in a major role again after a post-pandemic move towards directing. A much quieter performer than the role’s originator Sean Arbuckle, Prest’s Thomas is an equally effective but extremely different leading man. That space for interpretation is perhaps the key feature of a script with staying power and how different the play feels with a unique take on Thomas is a very promising sign for the text’s re-stageability and the subsequent willingness of audiences to revisit it in different iterations. Similarly, Gloria Mampuya’s Vera more subtle take on head nurse Vera is an intriguing new perspective while Noah Beemer’s youthful, even playful energy as Andre is a distinct tonal shift from the original.
The other characters are played much more closely in the style of the first cast, to varying effect. Sharon Bajer is a lovely Marjorie with many of the same bustling mannerisms and vocal quirks of her predecessor but taping beautifully into an extra well of suppressed sadness. Alicia Johnston, on the other hand, attempts to play Pauline’s necessary harsh notes with the text’s prescribed intensity but goes far too hard and misses her vulnerability entirely. Perhaps most crucial but problematically elusive is the perfect Diana. The least effective of the role’s three performers to date, Catherine Wreford is stiff as a board as the craft of the role (the posture, the accent, the manners) completely overtakes the spirit of the person. Especially as seen through the eyes of Thomas who loves her so deeply, Diana’s inner light and unexpected humanity are the absolutely crucial elements of the character and, though her technique perhaps exceeds that of her predecessors, these unfakeable things are sadly undetectable in Wreford’s Princess. Though Diana actually has very few lines, how tricky she seems to be to cast effectively might be one of the play’s greatest weaknesses.
The highs and lows and, perhaps most notably, differences in Theatre Aquarius’ Casey & Diana point promisingly to the future of the text as something worth revisiting and re-evaluating as it continues to make its way through the Canadian theatrical landscape. A period piece with pre-dated, hyper-personal references and evergreen themes of compassion and tenacity, the work should age well. Here’s hoping it lives forever.