'It’s in my life blood': N.S. play explores mental health struggles of fishing communities

Crews and actors with Heat Theatre transform the cookhouse at Memory Lane Heritage Village into a performance space for "The Heart of Things." (Source: Wanda Graham)

Wanda Graham has produced and written more than a dozen plays in Halifax, but no show may be more deeply tied to her own experience and the lives of her neighbours than the one that will debut on Nova Scotia’s Eastern Shore next week.

The story has been on Graham’s mind for years and it’s one that only seems to become more relevant and resonant with each changing of the season. The play addresses the fishing communities of Canada and the stresses they face on and off their boats.

“I have lived in a fishing village on the coast of Nova Scotia for 45 years,” Graham said. “In a sense, it’s in my life blood, this story. This play is about stress in fishing communities that play on every member.

“Tragedies come and go in various sizes and shapes.”

The production, titled “The Heart of Things,” is produced by Heat Theatre and focuses on a young fisherman who hangs himself from the mast of his boat. His twin brother is inspired to follow their dream of becoming accepted as a fisher, confronting prejudices in the community.

Graham, who authored the play and is the director for its debut, said she drew inspiration for it from real-world events, including a young fisherman who tied himself to a mast for days to get the government’s attention for services.

“When one of my neighbours heard about my focus on young fisher stress and suicide he exclaimed, “Good! It’s a f---ing epidemic and there’s no help,” Graham said in a written statement.

John Plant composed an original score for the production, crafting a soundscape that matched the rhythm and cadence of the actors and their lines.

“It was an irresistible challenge, to create a soundscape which would sustain and project the world she had so vividly evoked,” Plant said in a written statement. “To do this, I notated the actors’ lines rhythmically, and constructed the soundscape around them.

“Most of the music was composed at the height of the pandemic, which somehow made it easier to work at white heat and with minimal distraction. I composed as if I had a huge orchestra at my disposal, preparing a full score (up to 30 staves) together with electronics and natural sounds.”

Graham complimented the six actors in the show for their ability to adapt to the musical score.

“It’s one of the most complicated scripts they’ll ever work on because of the musical score,” she said. “The movement can only happen in a way that works with the text. It’s an epic and it has to be played that way.”

The show will be held in the cookhouse at Memory Lane Heritage Village in Lake Charlotte, N.S. Graham said they have converted the space into an immersive stage that will allow room for the actors and projections.

“The cookhouse is a beautiful wooden space,” Graham said. “It’s like being inside a wooden instrument. It’s intimate and resonant like a heart.”

Each performance will feature a post-show conversation about mental health and the themes of the production.

“There’s a very proud tradition in this culture of doing it for ourselves,” Graham said. “They don’t necessarily listen to the zeitgeist coming from our media, they’re busy. Often when these things happen, people don’t know what to do. We wanted to start a conversation about where to look.

“There are resources that offer help. It’s not a matter of pride to ask for help.”

“The Heart of Things” will be held at 7 p.m. from Oct. 22 to 27. There will also be 2 p.m. shows on Oct. 26 and 27.

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