Sharon Pollock: Doc a taste of playwright’s own medicine
Thursday, August 26, 2010 at 10:42AM Reposted from The Toronto Star
“Physician, heal thyself,” is not a comment one usually associates with playwriting, but in Sharon Pollock’s case, it’s particularly apt.
Her play, Doc, is being revived by Soulpepper in a production that begins previews Thursday. It was originally conceived of by Pollock nearly 30 years ago as “a study of how family medicine had changed over the years.”
That was naturally something she was interested in, because her father, Everett Chalmers, was a well-known and respected New Brunswick physician.
But as Pollock started dealing with the highly troubled landscape of her actual family situation (which included infidelity, alcoholism and suicide), a totally different play emerged. It’s the one that premiered in 1984 in Calgary to great acclaim, and subsequently produced across the country.
“Sometimes you don’t know what it is you’re writing. Your brain is playing a trick on you,” says the 74-year-old author from Calgary, which she has called home since 1966. “If I knew I was going to delve so deeply...
THE READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE TORONTO STAR
Sharon Pollock: Doc a taste of playwright’s own medicine - thestar.com.
Sharon Pollock
Reader Comments (4)
The musical debut they talk about at the end of the interview, is that the show she's doing with you? She's hilarious! That's a great quote.
Yeah, Stuart, it's referring to Sharon's upcoming performance in Marg Szkaluba (Pissy's Wife) this March.
(And it's going to be AWEsome)
55. I have read a few good stuff here. Certainly worth bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much effort you put to create such a great informative web site.