The Vic

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

A group of women in the wilderness search for a missing, unidentified
female. Leanna Brodie’s first play unfolds as a series of flashbacks
into the women’s lives. The sharply drawn characters include Marjorie,
who is videotaping a diary of her adolescent life; Cheryl, an aspiring
filmmaker hoping to pattern her career after the colorful Darsana,
another member of the group; Spud, who is fighting to keep her past from
affecting her relationship with her lover, the intellectual Elise; and
the Atkinson family, one of whose members is the emotionally frail
survivor of a bizarre religious cult. The play’s basic message, which
has to do with the victimization of women, is most effectively realized
in the story of Spud and Elise. Unfortunately, not all the relationships
are as well defined as this one. Nor is there an overall clarity as to
the impact of memory on the present day. Nevertheless, The Vic marks the
emergence of a gifted playwright.