In Lieu of Flowers… please send New Canadian Plays

Alison Crosby’s new play In Lieu of Flowers, on stage until February 19th, 2023 at Neptune’s Scotiabank Studio Theatre, is a richly intellectual exploration of grief and sudden loss that tells the story of Eddie, a young woman struggling to process the death of her brother. In what ways has society conditioned us to grieve “appropriately”? How do we help our loved ones when they seem to be spiralling in ways that are beyond our understanding? How much do our own lives stop or even end when someone we love dies? These are just a few of the questions I was left pondering as I walked out of the theatre on Thursday evening.

Eddie, played by Faly Mevamanana, is struggling to keep her brother Erin, played by Allister MacDonald, alive in her heart, in her mind, and even as physically present in her life as her imagination is capable of. She sees him and talks to him. She makes decisions based on what she thinks he would want, or what he might do, and she tries to force everyone else in her life: her mother, Erin’s partner, and her own partner, to live in this constant sense of Erin along with her. This makes for an understandably impossible and at times heartbreaking situation for everyone. 

Crosby does an excellent job at finding moments of levity within a very intense and ultimately quite sad play. Having Erin appear as a figment of Eddie’s imagination is both the source of much of the play’s fun and comedy, while also being a telling symptom of the state of Eddie’s mental health. It’s also very clear that the Erin that we see isn’t the “real” Erin; he is being actively constructed by Eddie and is thus at the mercy of Eddie’s own knowledge. He can’t tell her what his favourite flower is. The gaps in Erin’s conversation highlight all the things she never knew or didn’t think to ask her brother while he was alive. This is a fascinating portrait of how we create memories, remember our loved ones, and attempt to piece our lives and those of others together from fragments, inferences, and bits we’ve made up along the way. 

All the actors in the play give strong performances. Jessica Brown plays Cassie, Erin’s partner, who is trying to find her place within a family she doesn’t quite belong in anymore, while Breton Lalama plays Eddie’s partner Alex, who is at a complete loss at how best to help their loved one cope. Kristina Nicoll gives an especially heartbreaking portrayal of Eddie and Erin’s mother who has to deal both with her own feelings of grief, but also with an explosion of confused and muddled emotions from her daughter. 

Director Ann-Marie Kerr layers the scenes and the moments overtop of one another so beautifully, in a way that shows very clearly how the actions and emotions of these five people are tightly intertwined. Yet, at the same time throughout the play Eddie is losing her connection to her remaining loved ones, and herself, in attempt to strengthen the connection to her brother. 

The play is quite Brechtian in nature. Eddie’s trauma responses are quite extreme in their literal sense, but she certainly represents an urge or fantasy that I think is quite prevalent among those who have lost loved ones, and there are absolutely aspects of her behaviour that are more broadly familiar. I found that in the space between me and Eddie Crosby was giving me the opportunity to really think critically about how we are expected to grieve, what we are supposed to do in our families when we are all grieving differently, and how impossible it is to truly connect with someone going through unimaginable grief when we ourselves have not experienced that yet or ever. I did find I was curious about what the characters in the play were like before Erin’s death. I wanted to know how Erin and his mom interacted, and how he and Cassie interacted, and how Eddie and Alex fit into those dynamics in brighter days. Eddie’s personality challenges all the other characters so much, and I wondered how much this was true of her before the accident as well.

Overall, In Lieu of Flowers is a very well-written and absolutely well staged new Nova Scotian play that sends its audience out of the theatre with lots to ponder and consider about how we care for those who have been left behind to survive. 

In Lieu of Flowers runs at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Stage (1589 Argyle Street) until February 19th, 2023. Shows are Tuesday to Friday at 7:30pm and Saturday and Sunday at both 2:00pm and 7:30pm. It is 90 minutes long with no intermission. This show is a Co-Production with the Highland Arts Theatre in Sydney. Talk Back Night is February 15th. Tickets are available online at this website, by calling the Box Office at 902.429.7070 or visiting the Box Office at 1589 Argyle Street (next door to The Pint Public House). Tickets range in price from $33.00-$61.00 (based on seating). Neptune Theatre is fully accessible for wheelchair users. For more Accessibility information please visit this website.