Theater 40 introduces the work of Jordan Tannahill, who one Toronto-based critic called “the future of Canadian theater.” In Late Company, the first of 28-year-old Tannahill’s plays to be produced in the USA, we sit through a dinner party at the upscale home of Michael Shaun-Hastings (Grinnell Morris) and his wife Debora (Ann Hearn), whose late teenaged son Joel was bullied and humiliated in high school — to such an extent that he committed suicide. It strains credulity to learn that the Hastings have invited to dinner one of the boys who was responsible for their son’s tragic death, Curtis Dermot (Baker Chase Powell), accompanied by his parents, Tamara and Bill (Jennifer Lynn Davis, Todd Johnson, respectively). Once you get past that sticking point, though, Late Company becomes a riveting and powerful play about the uncovering of festering psychological wounds. In a series of confrontational scenes, the two families go at each other, sniping at first as they defend their positions viz a viz bullying and homophobia, then going briefly silent, only to finally explode with pent-up anger, guilt and self-justification. Tannahill avoids making the Dermots villains by showing that they also have a compassionate side — and by making Curtis a complex, deeply feeling youth who is not afraid to face the truth about the unspeakable things that caused Joel’s death. The evening that was supposed to “bring closure” and “clear the negativity,” ends in shambles and suffering (though the playwright holds out a glimmer of hope and reconciliation in the final minutes). Theatre 40 has given Late Company a worthy production:, thanks to Jeff G. Rack’s elegant set, Bruce Gray’s expert direction, and above all to the expert and admirable performances by the five-person cast.
