Jacob James in Mark Crawford’s Chase the Ace. Photo by Jamie Kronick.
In March of 2020 as the world is reckoning with the prospect of a prolonged global shutdown and what that might look like Charlie King, a radio host on a hit Morning Show in a large Canadian city, is contending with his own life crashing down around him. This is the premise for Chase the Ace, which closes this weekend (April 12th, 2026) at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Studio Theatre. When King’s life in the city implodes he gets the opportunity to run a station in the small remote town of Port Belette. On the surface it seems ideal, both to get away from his own personal problems and also to do what many are wishing they could- get out of a large city centre and head for the country to ride out whatever the Covid-19 pandemic might bring somewhere where social distancing is not a luxury.
The play is written by Mark Crawford, who also wrote The New Canadian Curling Club and Stag and Doe, which audiences here have previously enjoyed at Neptune. It is performed in a whirlwind performance by Jacob James, who plays all seventeen characters that bring this story- and the entire town of Port Belette- to life.
When Charlie King arrives at the rural radio station (with a sweet Seaside FM vibe) he realizes that it will be just him and Denise, a friendly no-nonsense fearless sort of person, keeping the fledging operation afloat. The town seems filled with the types of folks you might expect from a rural Canadian place, but there is something fishy about the mayor and he isn’t even trying to hide it, and the head of the town’s nursing home, Hillside Manor, which is the first place to get a case of Covid, is also cagey and mysterious. King soon stumbles into a municipal mystery just as he begins to host these wildly popular Chase the Ace fundraisers for Hillside Manor that begin to attract attention from across the Maritimes and beyond.
It is one thing to be able to play seventeen different characters in a one person show that is storytelling based where the actor may remain stationary for much of the play but use the physicality of their faces, gestures and voices to really bring each individual character vividly to life, it’s quite another to watch James play seventeen different characters who are being chased by each other, confronting one another, and creating the dramatic tension and pacing for a whodunnit caper. It really is a fun night at the theatre watching him not just create the world of Port Belette for the audience but to be fully inhabiting it, with only a few blocks as set pieces to create the various physical spaces in the town from the radio station to his car, the Chase the Ace arena, to his bed. I especially loved Charlie’s continuously misplaced cell phone- which we can hear ring, but is always mimed once he finds it. The audience works in tandem with James, both of us bringing our imaginations to the table together to fill in as much detail for the backdrop as we choose. This creates a lovely collaboration and a sense that we are both invested and complicit with James in telling this story.
The play is meticulously directed by Charlotte Gowdy who not only has to make sure that James is impeccably clear with each physicality and vocal choice for all the various characters and the ways that he switches between them, but also where and how he is moving on a relatively bare stage so the audience knows not only who he is but where he is and where he is going in a way that doesn’t take their attention off the story and the mystery. Together Gowdy and James make this process look quite seamless and easy.
I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of this play. My favourite character, beyond Charlie and Denise, is this one specific town council member who is a hilarious cross between Elmer Fudd and Mayor Sam Booth from Murder She Wrote. Crawford does a really good job at leading the audience to assume something is true and then revealing something unexpected, which makes the experience watching the play all the more gratifying. I wondered if it would be helpful for audiences to hear more of the infamous tape that led to Charlie losing his job in the city. It is hard not to feel complete empathy for him, given that he was the victim of the infidelity by both his wife and his best friend, and also because he seems like a wholly likeable person who comes to a small town and becomes a sort of hero in showing empathy and compassion for the elders who are essentially sitting ducks for Covid in this nursing home. It might heighten the stakes a bit more for the audience if we could hear something that might feasibly turn public opinion against him. The ending of the play, which I obviously won’t ruin, is really strong, and, in my opinion, unexpected.
Crawford, James and Gowdy have changed the story and the context for the play a bit to set it in the Maritimes, and I actually found this aspect a little bit distracting. The Atlantic Bubble was such a unique, strange specific experience that I think it’s hard for people to capture it unless they experienced it first hand. I kept having moments where I was in my head comparing the reality of it to the story, but the comparisons were moot. It didn’t matter that the show didn’t feel necessarily like it was really specifically set here, I think Port Belette being a kind of Canadian Everytown might work better so the audience can fill their own details in like they’re doing with the set and the props and the costumes.
Chase the Ace is a really entertaining night at the theatre. Jacob James mixes nuanced artistry with real athleticism in this show, and while Crawford continually draws you deep into the heart of the story I think the audience remains aware on some level how impressive this feat from James truly is, which makes it a really special experience. It’s a trip in itself to be transported back to March, 2020, but at least looking back we have the benefit of foresight.
Ship’s Company Theatre’s production of Mark Crawford’s Chase the Ace starring Jacob James and directed by Charlotte Gowdy plays until April 12th, 2026 at Neptune Theatre’s Scotiabank Studio Theatre (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax). Shows are at 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday with 2:00pm matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets range in price from $25.00 to $50.00 based on seating. They are available online here or by calling the Box Office at 902.429.7070 or going in person to 1589 Argyle Street.
Please note: this production includes some instances of coarse language and flashing lights.
Neptune Theatre has a range of Accessibility Options for folks (Both Fountain Hall and the Scotiabank Stage are accessible for wheelchairs. Patrons can now purchase wheelchair seats for individual shows online with the promo code WHEELCHAIR. For more information, please contact the Box Office.). Click here for more thorough information.
