WHO WE CARE FOR - VAN FRINGE 2018

Written and directed by Kevin Opatovsky, Who We Care For is a timely and important story of drug addiction and the consequences for the addicted and those who love them. Behind every addict is at least one person who feels hopeful, hopeless and lost.

My favourite character was the young son whose anger and pain broke the tension with sarcastic and brutally honest outbursts. Someone had to say what everyone else was secretly thinking. Yet, it was obvious that he loved his father despite his failings as a parent.

If you have someone in your life who struggles with mental health or addiction, be aware of the intense emotions this play may bring to the surface.

​Who We Care For by Strange Cat Productions is playing at the Havana Theatre 6 - 16 September as part of the 2018 Vancouver Fringe Festival.

~ reviewed by Melody Owen

Click "read more" for the full video transcript.

Hey, Theatre Addicts. It's Melody. In a few minutes, I'm going to head over to Havana Theatre to see Who We Care For, produced by Strange Cat Productions. It's about a family sitting around a hospital room. So I'm expecting a lot of family dynamics, maybe some surprises about the family. I think maybe there's going to be tragedy, right, and know people are trying to work through that. So I'm expecting it to be intense, but I'm hoping there's some light moments. I will catch up with you after the show and let you know more about it.

Hey, Theatre Addicts. I'm just coming out of Who We Care For, which was playing at the Havana. The Havana is a small, intimate theatre which was actually really good for this production. It was an intimate production, three generations dealing with drug addiction and the health consequences of drug addition at the hospital. Loved one is dealing with a fallout of drugs, and the family has to reconcile this and figure out what to do about this and work through their own emotions and their place in the role of being able to help or not being to help the person they love.

The director in his notes, I'm going to actually read what he wrote. He said, "There are over 1,400 overdose deaths in BC last year. In ever case, the people that suffered, included families, friends, first responders, and medical professionals treating the sick." And I think he really wants to reflect that in the play. Yeah. And he did. He did reflect that. You could see the fallout for everyone, the medical professionals and the family and the friends. So it was really good.

My one comment is that some of the actors spoke very quietly sometimes, and I did have trouble hearing them. But my favourite thing was the three generations, especially, if you're in crisis, having a mouthy, angry teenager really helps. They had some great off-color comments by the teenager, which kind of broke the tension here and there. So that was really good.

So it's at the Havana, Who We Care For. I'm Melody Owen. This is Theatre Addicts, and if you'd like more reviews, subscribe to our YouTube Channel. We'll see you at the next show.