If live theatre was something the people of Kamloops could still attend, Western Canada Theatre would currently be showing The Boy in the Moon.
The play is based on the memoir of Canadian writer Ian Brown, who wrote about how he raised his son, who has a rare genetic condition called cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome.
"The play is profoundly moving, expressing and exploring aspects of family, love, and relationships to which we can all relate, no matter our particular family circumstances," according to WCT artistic director James MacDonald, who selected the play for the now truncated 2019-2020 WCT season.
MacDonald said he also selected the play because it would have been the theatre's first "relaxed performance" — featuring a more casual environment and more relaxed sensory experience, which could have drawn in patrons with autism spectrum disorder or other sensory processing disorder.
With WCT suspending its presentations during the pandemic, MacDonald has offered some alternate ways to take in the story he wanted to put on display.
MacDonald suggests reading Brown's memoir, The Boy in the Moon. Although libraries are closed, ebook versions are available online.
He also suggested an interview with the production's playwright, Emil Sher and Brown, and the audiodrama for The Boy in the Moon.
