The Foursome get a hole in one

By Tyler Clarke - Lake Cowichan Gazette.

Golf balls are shot off just as frequently as one-liners in the Lakeside Players theatre group’s latest play, "The Foursome". The dialogue-driven play features four old college friends, including Cameron (Paul Kleinschmidt), Donnie (Erin Butler), Ted (Brandon De Pol), and Rick (Daryle Proulx), who tee off at all 18 holes of a golf course. It isn’t just about golf, as these four friends have a lot of catching up to do, discussing everything from their personal philosophies to their often humorous sexual escapades.

Opening with Rick giving a prayer to golfing god Jack Nicklaus, who new golfer Donnie later mistakes for actor Jack Nicholson, the foursome crack open a few 7 a.m. beers and begin their round of golf. The foursome reveal themselves as business graduates of ‘85, and they promptly begin prying into each other’s lives since graduation. When Donnie reveals that he’s named his kid Herbert, Rick responds, “That’s a name for an old person. I mean, does he wear a fedora?”

The one-liners don’t stop there, including family, off-colour, and golf-related humour throughout the play. “There’s a bicycle path out there,” Rick said after Cameron slices his golf ball. “I hope he didn’t kill some innocent cyclist.” All four characters are unique; Rick is the sarcastic con artist player, Donnie is the straight-edge family man, Ted is an alcoholic cradle-robbing computer vendor, and Cameron is a worrywart. With professional-looking sets complete with real golf benches courtesy of the March Meadows Golf Course, a giant screen projecting various golf tee offs, the sound of birds chirping in the distance, and table centerpieces complete with real grass, a golf ball, and a little flag, a golfing atmosphere is created before the actors even enter the stage.

Once the four actors, all new to the Lakeside Players, enter the stage, it’s difficult to notice the fact that three of them are brand new to acting, with the exception of Butler. Their practice over the past few months has paid off, as the four do an excellent job of remembering their lines in this dialogue-heavy performance. The play’s dramatic moments occur in greater frequency near the end of the play, as characters work out how to deal with their ever-changing lives, though the plays abundance of humour help balance it all out, maintaining the play’s fun atmosphere.

Although teenagers will enjoy the play, it was clearly written for adults, who will more easily relate to the characters’ having to cope with the mid-life crisis stage of coping with life’s changes. The play is a tribute to Lakeside Players co-founder Garry McPhee, who died suddenly a few weeks before the play’s opening night. The Foursome is also in memory of Lake Cowichan Gazette editor Doug Marner, a long-time supporter of the theatre group, who also died suddenly earlier this year.