HALFWAY THERE
by Norm Foster
(April 25-May 17, 2025)
Directed by Cliona Kenny
Producer: Shabnam Munjal
About the play:
There’s no such thing as a secret in Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. Not when old friends Vi, Rita, and Mary Ellen meet for coffee every day at the local diner where Janine works. But when Sean, a heartbroken doctor, arrives for a temporary job at the local clinic, he tips the Maritime town (halfway between the North Pole and the equator) off its axis.
Messy love lives are uncovered. Vi just turned down her boyfriend’s proposal, Mary Ellen is tired of doing everything for her husband and sons, Rita just wants to find a date, and Janine already lives with a man she loves only a “little bit.” Can everyone find what they’re looking for in Stewiacke? Does the new doctor present a cure or a curse? And what happens when someone finds out a secret that managed to be kept hidden?
This feel-good comedy from the most-produced playwright in Canada will envelop you in a familiar warm hug that shares the relief of finding your people.
About Norm Foster, the playwright:
Norm Foster’s plays receive an average of one hundred and fifty productions annually making him the most produced playwright in the history of Canada.
Born in Newmarket and raised in Toronto, Norm attended West Hill Collegiate Institute and then went on to study Radio & Television Arts. A 25-year career in radio took him from Thunder Bay to Winnipeg to Kingston and finally to Fredericton, New Brunswick. It was there in 1980 that Norm acted in his first play: the part of Elwood P. Dowd in Harvey.
Foster fell in love with the theatre right then and there, and two years later he wrote his first professionally produced play, Sinners, followed by The Melville Boys. The latter would go on to be produced across Canada and in the United States, including a well-received run off-Broadway in New York – and at the Village Playhouse twice! Since then, Norm Foster has produced an astonishing output of work: over fifty plays in all.
Foster’s plays are known mainly for their comedic qualities, but they are not without their serious moments. When asked to try and pin down a common theme that runs through his plays, Foster says: “I think for the most part, they’re about ordinary people just trying to get by in life. I never set out with a monumental purpose in mind. I’m not trying to teach an audience a lesson or pass along some profound message, because I don’t think I’m qualified. What I am trying to do is make them feel a little better about this world, and that’s not easy these days.”
Village Players likes Norm Foster plays. We’ve done:
2023 Mending Fences
2017 The Melville Boys
2015 Maggie’s Getting Married
2011 The Long Weekend
2006 Ned Durango Comes to Big Oak
2003 My Darling Judith
2001 Office Hours
1996 The Affections of May
1992 Sinners
1990 The Melville Boys
About Cliona Kenny, the director:
Village Players is thrilled to have award-winning Cliona Kenny direct her third play with us, following Good People in 2020 and Dead Accounts in 2023. Her record of accomplishments for Toronto Irish Players include ACT-CO Thea awards as best director for Little Gem (2018) and best direction of an ensemble for Elvis’s Toenail (2015) (the playwright was her sister!). She had previously been nominated for her direction of Shining City, Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me, Juno and The Paycock, and Translations. Her Little Gem and Translations both won Theas in their year for best production. Her 2020 Good People with Village Players won a startling 9 Thea nominations, including Best Production. That shows the kind of first-rate performances she’s able to inspire in her actors – which she will now do again for the benefit of Village Players audiences.
An actor herself, Cliona’s roles have included Moll in Moll, Dophie in Midden, Eileen in The Cripple of Innishmaan, Mrs. Gibbs in Our Town, Maureen in The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Maggie in Dancing at Lughnasa, and Mrs. Tancred in Juno and The Paycock.
Halfway There will be the first Norm Foster play Cliona has directed . . . and in fact the first Canadian play (she said she found it quite like Irish plays).
Village Players 