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Letter From Queen Street

 Niagara-on-the-Lake is a posh tourist town that traces its origins to the Revolutionary War. According to my husband, Loyalists fled the colonies and built a new life in Canada. But the rebels sought revenge in the War of 1812. Niagara-on-the-Lake was then reconstructed.


The town hosts the Shaw Festival--although, in my experience, no one actually likes the plays of George Bernard Shaw. I've yet to meet someone who can't stop talking about "Mrs. Warren's Profession." Those indifferent to Shaw include the Shaw's own former creative director, who turned down the Shaw Festival's job offer several times before saying yes. Over time, the Festival's mandate has become slightly watery; there is now a vague understanding that a Festival play should have a setting that overlaps with Shaw's own era (roughly 1850 to 1950). But Marc and I just saw "Sleuth," which seemed to take place in the 1970s? So who knows.


As I grow old, I find myself wishing just to shop for lavender-scented products and to look at large bodies of water. Both options are available within Niagara-on-the-Lake.


In any case, "Sleuth" is an excellent play. An old man is irritated that his wife has found a new love. Old Man invites New Love for a drink. "You'll need lots of money to support my awful wife. Why don't you steal some jewels from me? I'll help you. You'll keep the jewels. I'll keep the insurance money." The Old Man actually has a *different* plan, which becomes clear as the story unfolds. And New Love is hardly a passive participant.


It's inspiring to read about Anthony Shaffer, who was less famous than his brother, Peter. Annoyed with Anthony, Peter, the author of "Equus," said, "My dear brother, you yourself are a born writer. Why don't you get to work?" And, at long last, Anthony wrote "Sleuth," which became a juggernaut at the Academy Awards. He wrote it in part for Stephen Sondheim, who (like "Old Man") had a well-known obsession with games and mystery plots. "Sleuth" and "Deathtrap" are seen as the end of a British mystery theater craze--an era that stretched all the way back to Agatha Christie. But, in America and Canada, the mystery theater phase hasn't ended. Today, Ken Ludwig is making cash from adaptations of Christie and Arthur Conan Doyle. "Gaslight" recently became a play. And a logical extension--the "horror" play--is making itself known on Broadway via "Grey House" and "Paranormal Activity."


Two thumbs up for "Sleuth."

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