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Local Playwright Passionate About the North Shore by Sherry Stinn L/ocal playwright Joan M a c L e o d ' s inspiration for her latest play. 2000. came from a story she heard of a cougar being found in the Pacific C o l i s e u m . She thought this incident symbolized how nature was out of joint. In 2000, whatever sense o f balance that may once have existed between the city and its surroundings no longer seems to exist. M a c L e o d says her characters have difficulty trying to balance urban lifestyles with natural surroundings. The signs that nature is out of wack mirror the problems they face in their o w n relationships. Bowen Island resident and awardwinning playwright M a c L e o d ' s latest work is a tribute to the wildness o f the North Shore. M a c L e o d , born and raised in North Vancouver, returns to her o l d neighbourhood in this play. Although she has lived away from Vancouver for 20 years, she has discovered a new appreciation of what she calls its "exotic beauty" since returning to the North Shore 2 years ago. After living in Toronto for eight years, where one can drive for hours and still not escape the "city" atmosphere, she finds there is a thrill to living on the North Shore: where you can be lost in the mountains in a matter of minutes. That this wildness exists in such proximity to Vancouver, holds its own. and even pushes back the pressures of urban sprawl. MacLeod finds remarkable. It is this very proximity to nature the characters in 2000 find so unnerving. I i\ing among the forests of North Vancouver they have a sense of what M a c L e o d describes as "the city invading the wild, the w i l d invading the city." Ironically, they feel invaded b) their environment, and are very disconcerted h> it. The unease they feel in their home is exacerbated by the presence o f a man living in the woods around them. He represents different things to each of the characters and his identity is not pinned down by M a c L e o d . To the wife there is an intriguing sexual dimension to his character, while to her husband he is merely a vagrant, a bum. To her elderly grandmother, he is a mythic character, a "mountain man." who has taken the wilderness as his own. He represents another example of nature gone awry in an unnatural role reversal--as a human moves into the wilderness, wild animals enter urban areas. While animals are being forced out of their natural environments around the world, this conflict should really strike a chord with Vancouver audiences. M a c L e o d says she is "very curious" to see what sort of response her play w i l l have from locals. Like her other plays. 2000 is very location specific. When asked about a supposed curse on locally set plays, she has only to refer to her earlier successes to dispel this myth. She has never been tempted to disguise the "Canadian-ness" of her works. In fact, she rejects this "sheepishness." saying her "best travelled plays were Bowen Island resident Joan MacLeod's latest play, 2000, is set in her childhood home of North Vancouver.This play with a definite enviromental issues bent will run at the Vancouver Playhouse January 6-February I. Info: 873-3311. theatre absolutely location specific." Her first play. Jewel, set in the Peace River Valley, has been translated into French. German. Danish, and Swedish. Toronto. Mississippi has been performed with great success all across Canada. A generic location to appeal to a general audience is not for her. A s the end of the century approaches. M a c L e o d ' s characters are approaching a turning point, both in their relationships with each other and to the world around them. M a c L e o d leaves the audience to ponder the possibilities for the characters and. indeed, for their own environment. M a c L e o d says she is more interested in promoting dialogue and thought than solutions, and while the issues raised are serious ones, says she ends 2000 on a note of optimism. As the characters seem to be moving towards having a greater appreciation for their environment, the audience is left with the idea that they may even come to share the awe of nature that MacLeod already possesses. Sherry Stinn is a freelance writer living in North Vancouver.