I Still Love You

by Daniel MacIvor

“Each play adds up to a theatre experience which is so intriguing that we find ourselves going back through our memory of watching it.”—from the introduction by Linda Moore Five plays by Daniel MacIvor in celebration of the twentieth anniversary of da da kamera. Never Swim Alone, The Soldier Dreams, You Are Here, In on It, and A Beautiful View.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

About the author

Daniel MacIvor was born in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in 1962. He is a stalwart of the Canadian theatre scene, having written and directed numerous award-winning productions including See Bob Run, Wild Abandon, 2-2-Tango, This Is A Play, The Soldier Dreams, You Are Here, How It Works, A Beautiful View, Communion, Bingo! and his work has been translated into French, Portuguese, Spanish, Czech, German and Japanese. From 1987 to 2007 with Sherrie Johnson he ran da da kamera, a respected international touring company which brought his work to Australia, the UK and extensively throughout the US and Canada. With long time collaborator Daniel Brooks, he created the solo performances House, Here Lies Henry, Monster, Cul-de-sac and This is What Happens Next.

Daniel won a GLAAD Award and a Village Voice Obie Award in 2002 for his play In On It, which was presented at PS 122 in New York. His play Marion Bridge received its off-Broadway premiere in New York in October of 2005. In 2006, Daniel received the Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama for his collection of plays I Still Love You. In 2007, his play His Greatness won the Jessie Richardson Award for Best New Play in Vancouver. In 2008, he was awarded the prestigious Siminovitch prize in Theatre.

Also a filmmaker, Daniel has written and directed the feature films Past Perfect, Wilby Wonderful and the short films Permission and Until I Hear From You, and he is the writer of the feature films Trigger, Marion Bridge and co-writer (with Amnon Buchbinder) of Whole New Thing.

Currently, Daniel divides his time between Toronto and Avondale, Nova Scotia and he is playwright in residence at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.

Reviews

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think his one man shows or the most recent New Magic Valley Fun Tan are stronger. I was disappointed this collection didn’t include See Bob Run.

[Sarah Pitman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this a while ago, but wanted some time to think these plays over. I Still Love You is a collection of plays, so without further ado, welcome to my impressions.

Never Swim Alone: 5/5
Two men, Frank and Bill, are called into a performance space where every aspect of their current lives are placed in competition. The rounds are overseen by a referee who may know more about them then is first apparent. Dialogue is quick, giddy, and charged with increasing tension. The amount of backstory MacIvor packs into every interaction, the uneasy turn from the facade of congeniality to viciousness is a perfect arc and absolutely fascinating. We're never given a reason for the confrontation, but don't really need one. Instead it is just understood that somehow these three people have been given a surreal chance to come together and face the choices that have made them who they are.

The Soldier Dreams 3.5/5
A group of friends and family gather around a dying man, each sharing something about their relationship with him, though in a relatively un-sentimental way. They each claim some special connection to him, but his dreams are filled with the memory of another man. Classic monolgoue breakouts, each character with super distinct voice, though didn't drive me forward as eagerly as some of the others.

You Are Here 3.5/5
Unlike any other plays in the collection, You Are Here has a significant cast. The wide array of characters are mainly there to support Alison's journey, along with Richard's, so have a bit more a sense of being supporting caricatures. Still entertaining and heart-wrenching at all the right places, with conscious use of the stage.

In On It 50000000/5
This play is my favourite in the collection, though I admit that I was fortunate enough to see a great live production of of this so that is probably skewing my view. I just love the revelations, the building of character, the twist. Brad has this hopeful, more laid back personality but when he needs to say what he's feeling, he's genuine about it. Brian is far more uptight, by the book, both sensitive in a constructive and detrimental way. They way they play off of each other, trade roles, attempt to tell the same story but arguing what lens to give it is absolutely brilliant. As well, I love the concept of who has control over the narrative, and the realization that some of what we're witnessing is very much filtered through multiple lenses. The characters acknowledge this themselves, all tying into the unknowability of our fellows, this yearning to understand the why behind every action and inability to do so. Plus the dialogue is sharp and it's got enough humour to have me laughing in my seat then unexpectedly crying at the end. Just wow.

A Beautiful View 4/5
A love story that is somehow not romantic. Again, a great use of meta-theatricality, voice. The voices of Mitch and Liz felt fairly similar, though their different outlooks on life gave each of them a unique perspective and therefore, motivation going forward. Similar in some ways to In On It without pushing the same boundary of a manufactured narrative, so we do get to spend more genuine time getting to know the characters.

Okay that's it. Can officially say I am in camp Daniel MacIvor. This is a man who writes for Theatre, stories that can only be told in a theatre, that are aware and make full use of the limitations and possibilities of the stage. I hope to see more of his work in future.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

after reading a new york times article about 'a beautiful view' i decided to check it out, since i had spare time and money. it was quite worth it, and i immediately went and bought this book (from canada) and was surprised to see he had written a different play that i had already seen, 'never swim alone'. both are pretty fascinating glimpses into pairings, one a friendship between two women, the other a rivalry between two men.

[D.J. Sylvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's hard to rate a collection of anything, because each individual work can be so different ... for instance, in this collection I absolutely hated the first play, loved the second, and the rest were somewhere in the middle.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotionally exhausting, in the best way possible. I love Daniel MacIvor for life, yo.