Kanata Theatre kicked off its 2024-2025 season of community theatre with Lettice & Lovage. British playwright Peter Shaffer originally penned the play to create a robust female role for Dame Maggie Smith.
Smith went on to win a Tony Award for her portrayal of Lettice Douffet, a character with an interest in history that extends to food and a penchant for the theatre. Lettice, who should be relishing her retirement, serves as a tour guide for a preservation trust overseeing the historic London residence where she is employed.
Barbara Kobolak embraces the dual responsibilities of director and protagonist in Kanata Theatre’s production of Lettice & Lovage, delivering a remarkable performance as the eloquent and exuberant Lettice Douffet.
When the plaster cornices and the number of spindles on the staircase fail to impress the visiting tourists, Lettice takes it upon herself to embellish the history of the 16th-century home where it appears nothing ever happened. She lives up to her theatrical late mother’s motto: “enlarge, enliven, enlighten”.
From dining on hedgehogs to the delicacy of puffins and other so-called Elizabethan cuisine to the tall tales of late queens and fair maidens, Lettice’s imagination turns the dull old mansion into a thrilling narrative for visiting tourists.
Lettice retains a youthful spirit. She possesses childlike creativity, a quality that often diminishes with age. However, for Lettice, this quality abounds. Lettice finds comfort in the memory of her late mother; it’s almost like a grounding force that gives her confidence and reinforces that there is a place for her in the world despite her seeming quite lonely.
The dialogue-driven play is ultimately about the relationship between Lettice and her supervisor, Lottie (Susan Monaghan), another woman of advanced age. Unlike Lettice, Lottie is devoid of creativity and finds comfort in following rules and procedures.
Lottie’s job appears to be the centrepiece of her life, and while Lettice finds fulfilment in her creativity, Lottie, who tells her new friend that she is of German descent, does so by following the rules.
The two women are the perfect female odd couple, but in their differences, they also have similarities. Their combined discomfort with the stage of life they find themselves in, and their inability to fit into new ways of the world draw them closer together.
Despite the solid acting by the two main characters and the set design—a consistently strong feature of Kanata Theatre productions—, the play does seem to take its time; however, the comedic brilliance of the third act makes the wait worthwhile.
Lettice & Lovage is being performed at the Kanata Theatre until Saturday, September 21. For tickets, please visit the theatre’s website.
