Two Ships Passing

David E. Kemp, a former drama professor at Queen’s University, is the
author of The Pleasures and Treasures of the United Kingdom.

Dave Carley’s plays have been produced across Canada and the United
States, as well as in Japan, Australia, England, and New Zealand. He has
written a number of radio dramas and is the senior script editor for CBC
Radio Performance. His published works include Taking Liberties, a
controversial look at political correctness and libertarianism, and
Writing with Our Feet, a Governor General’s Literary Award nominee.

Two Ships Passing is the thoroughly engaging sequel to Carley’s
widely produced comedy Midnight Madness (1988). In the decade since
their encounter in Midnight Madness, Anna and Wesley have seen radical
changes in their lives. Anna has recently been appointed to the bench,
while Wesley has become a minister. Anna’s son Jason, who was 13 when
we last saw him, is now a university graduate in business
administration. Perhaps the greatest change in the family is the
divergence of their political views. We also see Anna achieving personal
growth and Wesley throwing off the sexual repression that characterized
his life in the earlier play. Two Ships Passing shares with Midnight
Madness the playwright’s trademark intelligence, skill in narrative
exposition, rueful introspection, and ability to imbue characters with
warmth and humanity.