How to Play: The Theatre of James Reaney

R. Kerry White is the director of theatre arts at Laurentian University.

Well researched, serious analyses of the works of Canadian playwrights
are rarely published in this country. But Parker’s How to Play is such
a book, and its publication is an exception.

The title is apt: Parker’s thesis is not concerned only with
Reaney’s plays; it is more importantly concerned with Reaney’s
nationalism as an esthetic agenda. If theatre is an expression of
community, Canadian theatre should be no less, and not a dumping ground
for cultural imperialism. If the underlying mimetic motivation of
theatre is the desire to “play,” Canadian theatre should spring from
a home-grown sense of play—in the several connotations of that word.

An introductory chapter, “This Native Land Business,” sets the
analysis of Reaney’s theatre firmly in the context of an emerging
national theatre. In fact, Parker reminds us that Reaney’s first plays
and first theatrical experiences were in the vanguard of that emergence.
The two central chapters, which make up the bulk of Parker’s
discussion, then focus on two themes, “form” and “voice,” or
dramaturgy (of text and performance) and national character. More than
an analysis of plays in chronological order, therefore, Parker’s
discussion of Reaney’s drama and theatre is tied to an examination of
these two themes: Parker has an agenda of his own.

This critical perspective is informed by Northrop Frye, whose presence
seems to hover over the entire enterprise of “form” and “voice.”
This is by no means simply an impression: there are more references to
Frye than to any other person in the index. This is balanced, however,
by a very wide selection of other sources, from critics to actors and
other artists. In fact, the book suffers a bit from this academic
penchant for inserting all the research. This includes the numerous
references to more than 30 of Reaney’s essays and to his 24 plays and
poems. The reading, as a consequence, is somewhat choppy.

Is this book destined to appeal only to knowledgeable Reaney fans? Not
necessarily, although reading the major plays is a must if one is to
appreciate Parker’s argument. Does this book do justice to its
subject? Unquestionably, and more: it forces one to re-evaluate a
national treasure.