What: Mating Dance of the Werewolf
Where: Theatre Inconnu, 1923 Fernwood Rd.
When: Until Oct. 15
Tickets: $14; $10 seniors (60-plus), students and unwaged; Tuesday, Oct. 4 performance: pay-what-you-wish
Info: theatreinconnu.com
Reservations: ticketrocket.co, 250-590-6291
There was a time when a director might have found it challenging trying to stage with a straight face a play about the romance between a detective and a werewolf.
This was before pop culture’s proliferation of inter-species romances such as Beauty and the Beast, Teen Wolf, The Vampire Diaries, True Blood and The Twilight Saga became commonplace, however.
Wendy Merk, who co-directed Mating Dance of the Werewolf with Lorene Camiade, says treating the female werewolf of the title as “a straightforward character” proved to be the best approach for them.
“When we first started, it was like: ‘How are we going to do this?’ ” recalled Merk, who wasn’t familiar with Mark Stein’s offbeat romance until Theatre Inconnu’s artistic director Clayton Jevne brought it to her attention.
The play focuses on Ken, the detective who to his surprise finds himself attracted to Abby, the shy yet alluring young woman he suspects is stalking him.
It’s just a matter of time before Ken realizes his secret admirer is a werewolf.
“We discussed this with the actors first of all, and then we said: ‘We can play this one of two ways — either as totally ridiculous, or dead seriously,’ ” said Merk, whose show opened Wednesday at Theatre Inconnu.
Indeed, suspension of belief is not just something required of theatregoers here. This show also explores how infatuation can influence our willingness to do just that.
“What we discovered more and more was that there are double and triple intentions going on,” said Merk. “This makes it more intriguing for our actors, and more interesting for the audience.
“You’re never sure if a person means what they are saying, or if they mean the opposite.”
The co-directors and their cast also began to realize that when they played a seemingly bizarre scenario seriously, the results were unexpectedly funny.
“There’s also a feminist side to this because it’s a female werewolf,” Merk said. “One of the things she talks about is how the men in her life cannot accept that, and how they should be able to live with that.”
As tempting as it might have been, Merk and Camiade didn’t use any particular movie such as An American Werewolf in London or TV show for inspiration.
“We were basically focusing on the script and how it resonated with us personally,” said Merk. “If you believe this woman turns into a werewolf periodically, and how they all deal with that, it becomes very funny.”
One of the developments Merk found compelling was a scene in which Abby describes what life has been like for her since she discovered she was a werewolf.
“You’re not born with lots of hair on your face, so you wouldn’t know for a while,” Merk said. “She doesn’t discover this until she’s a teenager.”
While Merk is well aware that historically “people just don’t like werewolves for some reason,” they wanted to ensure that Abby wasn’t depicted as a villain.
“She’s not the bad guy at all,” said Merk, adding with a laugh: “She’s just doing her thing. She just wants to run in the woods and eat a raccoon.”
This isn’t the first time Merk and Camiade have collaborated creatively. They began working together at Langham Court Theatre, where Camiade played the lead in Merk’s production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
“We get along very well. We had a lot of fun,” said Merk, adding while there are gruesome visual elements some might find disturbing, they’re nothing compared to what you’d find in modern movies or TV shows.
Mating Dance of the Werewolf runs 90 minutes, with one 15-minute intermission.
Theatregoers who wear a Halloween costume will get a free beverage and cookie from the theatre’s concession.
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