#originalplays

Same Boat Theatre's Whale Fall is a one-act drama about the extinction of Canada’s southern resident orca population and the journey of one woman to find the last remaining whale while struggling to hold on to the memories of her father. Part coming-of-age story and part fable for the era of climate change, Whale Fall is an intimate duet between two characters as they navigate the painful waters of family, memory and species extinction. Written by Stephen Near (SN) and directed by Aaron Joel Craig, the show has received critical praise in both Hamilton and Vancouver and now, the show returns to Hamilton once more for a limited run before heading to Toronto.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Stephen and he shared several personal reflections of the show’s success at the Vancouver Fringe Festival and what plans the company has for Whale Fall in the future....

What inspired your company to take Whale Fall to the Vancouver Fringe Festival this past summer? 

SN: Well, the play takes place on the West coast, and starts off with the main character in Vancouver and then making her way up the coast. And, if any animal is emblematic of Vancouver, it’s the orca. They’re a regular sight for whale watching tours in the Georgia Strait not to mention holding special significance for the Indigenous people of the West coast. So, as a play that directly tackles the issues of species extinction and climate change through the story of the orca, Vancouver felt like a natural fit. Even when we were rehearsing the play last year, we talked about showing it out West. And, to be fair, we did apply to a number of other Fringes this past year including Toronto and Edmonton but they didn’t materialize. Vancouver was our one and only draw so it felt a bit like we were destined to show the piece out West. 

2. How would you compare Vancouver's Fringe Festival experience to the Hamilton Fringe Festival experience? 

SN: When we first performed Whale Fall at Hamilton Fringe, we were coming out of the pandemic with a brand-new script which we’d never tried in front of an audience. For Aaron and I, it was also our first time working with Stephanie Hope Lawlor and Ray Louter as actors in a really personal play. The success of the play in Hamilton took us a bit by surprise. Not because we had doubts in the material or the performers, but that the audience would react to it so positively and strongly. Our houses and the reviews reflected that. In Vancouver, we didn’t have a built-in audience. We had the accolades from the show but we were facing a much larger festival (80+ shows) and an unfamiliar community.

It felt a bit overwhelming but, at the same time, we lucked out in our venue. Aaron and Ray knew some of the people at the Pacific Theatre and that allowed us a bit of reassurance when the show first hit the stage. We managed to catch a few shows outside of our performances but a lot of our downtime was spent keeping ourselves focused away from home and experiencing Vancouver as a company. It was an amazing experience, and one which has strengthened us as a company.

3. Did Whale Fall resonate differently with the Vancouver audience due to the show’s subject matter? If so, how?

SN: It certainly hit a lot of audiences harder. There were several viewers who came out of the performance weeping and others who met me after the show or subsequent Fringe line-ups who really had a strong reaction to the piece. But, perhaps, what made the biggest impression were the stories people told me both post-show and in Fringe line-ups when I was handing out postcards. Many audience members told me of their own close encounters with orca or whales, in general. Some older viewers were also involved in the environmental movement that started in BC in the 70s and 80s and connected with the play on that level.

By and large, though, I think the themes of searching for hope and coming to terms with loss resonated in many of the same ways as they did with Hamilton audiences which perhaps points to why this play has such universal appeal

4. How has the production changed since its initial staging in 2022? What have been some highlights and challenges in reworking aspects of the show? 

SN: The script has changed in some significant ways although the overall theme and story have not. We are still following Becca’s journey to find the last remaining orca. We are still reliving moments between her and her father, Steven. But I did write additional scenes and refine existing ones especially where they concerned Becca’s past conversations with her dad. We touch on a lot more specific moments that helped to clarify her journey in the present. And we also changed the ending. A bit. That was a magical moment in rehearsal when we all sat down, knew our original ending wasn’t hitting the way we wanted it to and hammered out something new.

Revisiting and reworking scripts post-first run is actually my favourite part of the playwriting process and I know we all enjoyed diving back into the play after a year away from it. At the same time, the challenge always comes when you revisit a piece. You ask questions of the material and the characters and the answers aren’t always easy to find. I mean, Aaron, Stephanie and Ray all continued to probe the characters and their motivations even after the script was largely nailed down. For me, that’s when you find the real gems hidden within a script.

5. Whale Fall will enjoy a limited Hamilton return at the Hamilton Conservatory of the Arts later this month. What influenced this decision and what’s next for the production (or Same Boat Theatre in general)?

SN: After the HCA Performing Arts Sunday Series, Whale Fall will premiere at Toronto’s Red Sandcastle Theatre. Located in the city’s east end theatre district, Red Sandcastle is home to Eldritch Theatre and is Toronto’s longest operating ‘storefront’ theatre and we’re really excited for the chance to show it there. The desire to bring the show to Toronto really came out of mine and Aaron’s desire to expand the reach and the audiences of Same Boat. As for Red Sandcastle, I know the owners really well. They took the theatre over during COVID and have really opened up the space as an alternative theatre venue so we wanted to support them.

As for what’s next for Same Boat, well, Aaron and myself have a lot of things we’re cooking. And, when we were in Vancouver, we had a chance to collaborate with Stephanie and Ray on some of those plans. I can’t speak to specifics but there’s lots more to come. The success of Whale Fall, both here and in Vancouver, as well as the fact that we’re coming up on our 10th anniversary has really given Aaron and I the confidence to take the company in some bold new directions. The fact is that we’ve been creating new theatre together in this city for over a decade. We push each other professionally and creatively while being dedicated to keeping the company moving forward. Our company is a Hamilton success story… and the story’s not done.

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The journey of Whale Fall continues on for Same Boat Theatre and I am very excited that the production will continue to deliver some very beautiful and tragic insights into how climate change affects more than what the eye can see. In my Hamilton Fringe review, I referred to the show as "harrowing" and "poetry in motion." I stand by these statements and hope Hamilton and Toronto audiences resonate with this show and with the fascinating original work Same Boat Theatre provides.

For tickets and more information, please visit: https://hcadancetheatre.com/product/whale-fall/