Driving the issue home

New play brings UVic research to the community

‘Grandpa’ (John Krich) stubbornly holds onto his car keys despite the protestations of ‘daughter Joanne’ (theatre student Anne-Marie Cirillo). Photo: UVic Photo Services

By Adrienne Holierhoek

“It’s a man’s god-given right to drive, damn it!” These words—uttered in frustration by Grandpa in the play No Particular Place to Go—get to the heart of the complex set of issues surrounding older driver safety.

The play, now touring locations around Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland, investigates the lives of three generations of drivers: the stubborn and independent 80-year-old Grandpa, played by actor and retired UVic theatre professor John Krich. His concerned but busy daughter Joanne and her teenage son MJ, who has recently had his license suspended for road-racing, are played by applied theatre students Anne-Marie Cirillo and Reid Sparling.

The 50-minute play was written by Warwick Dobson, University Scholar in Applied Theatre and Chair of the Theatre Department; and is co-directed by Trudy Pauluth-Penner, a UVic alumna, and Yasmine Kandil, an applied theatre doctoral student.

The research which forms the basis of the play was conducted by UVic’s Centre on Aging. In a series of focus groups conducted in Victoria, Nanaimo, Parksville and Courtenay, seniors and their families, health care professionals, police, and representatives from the Motor Vehicles Branch and ICBC all expressed their views on the issue of older driver safety. The script was developed at the end of a six-week devising process in which the three actors improvised the scenes that form the basis of the narrative.

“There were thousands of pages of input,” says Krich. He, Dobson and the devising team pored over the information in order to understand who the characters might be. “Many of the scenes incorporate direct quotes from the focus groups.”

“Driving is a highly-charged emotional issue for everyone,” says lead researcher Dr. Holly Tuokko of the Centre on Aging. “The play helps illustrate the different points of view that were revealed in the study and hopefully serve as a starting point for conversation.”

Performed in community and seniors’ centres around the region, the play is affecting audiences old and young. “We’re not just standing there spewing facts and figures at people,” says Krich. “By creating actual drama, people can relate to the characters and their experiences and understand the issues at a more personal level.”

“The loss of independence is a serious issue for many seniors, but it’s not the only one,” says Dobson. “It affects the whole family. We’ve tried to illustrate some of the tensions that arise as a family grapples with the question of whether Grandpa should give up driving.”

At a performance in Qualicum Beach in April, Cirillo was approached by several women who identified with her character of Joanne. “It was amazing. One woman told me that the entire family needed to get together to make an intervention to help their father.”

“Taking a license away is like taking away years of history. In memory upon memory—your first car, your first date, family holidays—the car has been a central element in our lives,” says Cirillo as she recounts a scene in the play where Grandpa and Joanne look at old photos that bring back memories. “It’s an emotional response too.”

As an “experienced” driver himself, Krich is also affected by the play. “I find myself extremely aware of how bad the driving is on the road—both young and old! It has made me more conscious of my driving and that of others.”

No Place in Particular Place to Go will be performed on campus at the Phoenix Theatre on May 12 at 5 p.m. Everyone is welcome.