WAM October 22-23 Saltwater Moon/ Jamie Mac

David French and his Mercer-cycle plays rest in the highest reaches of the Canadian theatre pantheon. He and they are amongst the most appreciated of stage works.

Salt-Water Moon, the romantic comedy about young love and the first in the 5-play series, has received regular production across the country and around the world since its premiere in 1984. It is a script that speaks about the universal while looking at the provincial.

The National Arts Centre in Ottawa opened its 2011-2012 season on Friday with a new production of Salt-Water Moon starring Newfoundlander Jamie Mac as Jacob Mercer, the 18-year old boy returning to Coley’s Point from Toronto to discover his sweetheart, Mary Snow, is now betrothed to another, the wealthy Jerome.

I spoke with Jamie on Friday morning and asked him how it felt to play Jacob Mercer on the stage of the National Arts Center in this seminal work.