Perfect Pie

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

Judith Thompson is an award-winning playwright whose previous works
include Sled (1997), The Other Side of the Dark (1997), Lion in the
Streets (1996), and White Biting Dog (1986). Her latest play, Perfect
Pie, is a richly textured, wonderfully satisfying, and emotionally
charged piece of theatre that treads a fine line between fantasy and
reality, memory and dreams.

Patsy, an unsophisticated rural Ontario housewife, invites Marie for a
visit. Patsy has not seen her childhood friend since Marie disappeared
shortly after the two were involved in a terrible accident more than 30
years ago. Marie, who is now known as Francesca, has become a successful
stage actress in Toronto since that time.

What starts out as a conversation full of pleasantries and fond
remembrances slowly unfolds into a harrowing reconstruction of their
painful past. Interspersed with scenes of the present are evocative
memory sequences featuring Patsy and Marie at ages ranging from 8 to 15.
These wonderfully effective scenes span the years from 8 to 15 and are
played by two different actors. Thompson’s skilful handling of the
shifts in time bespeak her reputation as one of Canada’s most
accomplished playwrights.