Serpent in the Night Sky

David E. Kemp is head of the Drama Department at Queen’s University.

When this, Dianne Warren’s first play, premiered at Saskatoon’s 25th
Street Theatre Centre in February 1991, it was immediately obvious that
Warren was a major new voice in Canadian theatre. This view has been
subsequently confirmed by recent plays such as Club Chernobyl and The
Last Journey of Captain Harte.

This powerful and evocative play deals with domination and escape. On
the surface the play’s plot is simple. Duff, a young taxi driver,
meets Joy, the girl of his dreams, who is a teenage runaway. Duff is
seemingly in thrall to Gator, who can relate to people only by
dominating them. In her attempt to pry Duff away from Gator, Joy enlists
the help of Gator’s abused wife as well as that of Duff’s mother,
who is “surviving” in the rural northern Saskatchewan heartland. The
play’s title comes from yet another character to whom Joy turns for
help. Preacher, who always carries a long-handled gaff, is trying to
save the world by ensnaring the cosmic serpent that eats the moon.

The disparate forces of realism, myth, and image come together
seamlessly in this play to produce both significant energy and truth;
there is both earthy realism and densely structured layers of myth and
imagery. The characters, though eccentric, are articulate and
forthright. In some ways, the play is Pinteresque, with the
possibilities of escape and violence lurking just below the formal text.

This is a disturbing play; it jolts the sensibilities and creates a
feeling of apprehension as it questions fundamental beliefs. That it is
a significant new Canadian play, there can be little doubt.