Writing a play about colorectal cancer wasn’t exactly on Morris Panych’s to do list.
The Canadian playwright/director came onto the project at the request of his friend, Spirit of the West singer John Mann, who had just completed a solo album about his experience with cancer.
“I had already said yes before I even listened to the album, because John and I had worked together before and I love his music, and I knew it would be really fun and interesting,” says Panych, speaking by phone during a break in rehearsals. “He approached me with a whole album and said I want to do a play out of this, and take the story of these songs.”
Commissioned by the Arts Club four years ago, The Waiting Room tells the story of J (played by Jonathon Young) as he navigates the world of hospitals and grapples with the big questions that arise during a health crisis, backed by music from Mann's album. Penned sometimes right from Mann’s hospital bed, songs like “Angry Sore” and “These Are The Instructions” capture the anger and contemplation of the unknown, with Panych filling in the play's timeline with his trademark dark humour.
“The whole thing is absurd because the way medicine works and the way hospitals work is it’s all a bit Kafkaesque,” says Panych. “One’s identity is seriously put on hold when they’re in the hospital – you literally become your bracelet – and I think that that really is a scary and interesting experience for most people who go through it.”
Mann beat the disease but, sadly, another health battle is acting as a tragic underscore leading up opening night.
“John’s got early onset Alzheimers,” says Panych, “so his involvement within the show has been evolving over the last year. He can do certain things, but he gets thrown really easily and confused. We’ve had to re-jig the show and how involved in it he is.”
A veteran actor and performer, Mann will still be singing the songs for The Waiting Room, but will be sheltered from the audience by a band (Brad Gillard, Eric Reed, Shari Ulrich).
“Initially I wanted him to be performing as an actor, but those things started to change really rapidly and it’s an ongoing situation,” says Panych. “But that’s not really the story we want to tell. Quite honestly, the story we want to tell is about the journey with colorectal cancer, because it’s fun and charming and strange and bittersweet, and all the things that really embody John’s lyrics and music.”
• The Waiting Room runs Oct. 1-31 at the Granville Island Stage. Tickets start at $29; ArtsClub.com
