Secret lives of Poster Boys and girls

Davina Stewart tells how her character grapples with relationships

Poster Boys

Written by Michele Riml
Directed by Bradley Moss
Starring Jesse Gervais, Jeff Haslam, Davina Stewart, and Frank Zotter
Roxy Theatre (10708–124 St.)
Runs November 26–December 13 at 8 p.m.
2 p.m. on Sundays. No show Mondays.
$15-50 at tickets.theatrenetwork.ca

Theatre Network's latest comedy Poster Boys features a new spin on true events. Career-obsessed middle-aged executive Caroline (Davina Stewart) is in the midst of an ad campaign for a large credit bank. The two poster boys featured in this ad just happen to be the first same-sex couple in a major marketing campaign. Perhaps this is not an impressive fact, unless you consider that one of the love-birds happens to be Caroline’s ex-fiance Jack — the man that left her at the altar over a decade ago. The play is an imaginative interpretation of a real Vancity Credit Union ad project, which brought about a strong reaction from Catholic Archbishop Adam Exner.

But according to Stewart, this comedy is not about political or moral controversy but “gay relationships, relationships with people, family relationships, work relationships, and the blurring between them."

At the centre of all of these overlapping relationships is Stewart's character, Caroline.

"She’s dealt with the relationship [with her ex-fiance Jack] by focusing on work, not dealing with that part of her life, so it becomes a story for her about dealing with relationships that didn’t work out [and] how she has to deal with it when she sees him with his partner," explains Stewart.

Part of Caroline's coping even involves a little blurring of the lines between herself and her co-workers — particularly with one younger man at the office.

“I have a sort of liaison at work. It’s a power struggle with him, because I’m in charge. I’m his boss. It’s lovely [and] controversial,” Stewart notes humorously.

But Stewart’s character is not about to be pushed to the sidelines of the story. She has her own issues to face, and plays a strong and important role. Encountering Jack allows her to confront her own self-doubts and fears, and reflect on what she might be missing in life.

“The fear of being alone — it is difficult at times to know what that means," Stewart ponders. "When you get married there is that moment when you think you’re going to be 80-years-old together, but for her it didn’t last that long. You get a rude awakening when you find it only lasted five years — now what? You have to think of your life in a different way and sometimes that can be terrifying for people, re-imagining who they are going to be. That is her story and what the play is about.”

To compensate for this loneliness, Caroline propels all her energy and time into her career — a move that causes her to question what she has become.

“She is living a lie. When people in these positions are selling something to the public, they can understand people and read them. They know how to spin things so it will work for a product, but they don’t necessarily know how to be honest with themselves," Stewart adds.

"She has the designer shoes, the designer bag. Expensive purses become status symbols. Caroline has a lot of status symbols in her life, things that cost a lot, but don’t have a lot of value. Sometimes you’re not just paying the price with money, you’re paying the price in other ways. That is what she finds out at the end. She has sort of sold herself on that idea and realizes maybe that is not enough anymore."

Stewart hopes audiences can see Poster Boys as a comedy and a story of individuals rather than a “gay story.” The show reminds us that “the best stories are from real life,” and that understanding yourself is a topic to which everyone can relate.