Ms. Cavendish is presently performing at the Centaur Theatre in The Goodnight Bird –
You have this wonderful presence on stage, energy, clarity and projection of character – and mostly, it is clear that you enjoy what you are doing.
“Theatre is very real for me – It was great playing pretend when I was a little girl. I loved it. I think that quality of me is very much alive and deep inside of me.”
You were directed by Roy Surette in this production before – how much has it changed?
“Two very different places! It was a huge success in the context of West Vancouver – it flew, with the tickets selling within minutes – when we closed the show there were still many who wanted to see it. We would never make an assumption that it would fit as easily here as here in Montreal – we’ll have to see. But this situation could happen anywhere – it’s about a homeless man who finds his way into a couple’s bedroom as they are going to bed. He brings danger, living outdoors in the woods. It’s a huge concern for those who care. In Vancouver we have homeless people everywhere and most people don’t care. The couple’s marriage of 40 years has become quiet cold – the homeless man is the catalyst to changing that.”
What has kept you in Canada – you were on Broadway in ‘Blithe Spirit’, weren’t you?
“Same thing that keeps you in Canada – it’s a wonderful country. It has such grace. We are very low key – It’s a wonderful thing to have a job – I always feel the wolf is nipping at my heels, though. How long can I keep fooling them? That keeps the spirit high. It keeps everything in perspective. This can become a very egocentric profession, very self-involved. I don’t want that. I’m lending myself, my experiences, my history to whatever variety of characters that come along.”
How difficult was it to create this character and stay within the context of the playwright’s vision?
“I owe everything I am to the character. Ultimately to the playwright. This play is very clever, it resonates hugely, it connects largely with an audience. This is a very tricky character to perform. Shirley Valentine was a cake-walk compared to this. This play is about marriage, history in a marriage, what they don’t know about when they start out – it’s deep in its thought – it’s also very funny. Colleen Murphy said she wanted to straddle genres and fracture expectations. And that’s exactly what she has done in the play. And Roy caters to that in his direction of it.”
What do you look for in a play before accepting to do it?
“Like anyone with a good book – you read it and you want to keep reading it. It’s got an interesting story that you can’t predict any sort of outcome
And the characters want to be very whole people and can be made more whole, plumped out, filled in by myselfI I just look for richness. Maybe it’s like sitting down to roast beef dinner and you know it’s going to be good especially when the gravy is added.” I’m a vegetarian!! “How about a good eggplant casserole, then!”
How many times have you worked with Roy?
“We met when I was about 27 – I’m 62 now – so it’s been a long time.
Off and on over the years we have made a point of connecting. I think he has a wonderful vision, he’s got a great sense of humour. He’s extremely accessible in terms of the rehearsal room if you ask him anything,or you want to bring something to the table that he may not have considered – he always considers all thoughts. All good cooks in the kitchen! Ultimately he holds the reins and creates a clear vision of what we are going for – he’s ideal.”
Ms. Cavendish is pretty ideal herself! ‘The Goodnight Bird’ continues until March 22. DON’T MISS IT!
