If you haven’t heard of Sudbury’s Matthew Heiti, you will. The talented writer, actor and theatre director has chosen to live in his hometown, but his talents may just take him to the brighter lights of bigger cities.
Heiti studied theatre at Ryerson University and creative writing at the University of New Brunswick. His play about a Sudbury baseball legend, Mucking in the Drift, was produced by the Sudbury Theatre Centre. His novel, The City Still Breathing”, published by Coach House Books, got good national reviews.
His new play, Receiver of Wreck, premiered Wednesday night at the PlaySmelter New Work Theatre Festival. The script is a very clever piece of literature that takes an original look at millennials coming of age in their 30s.
Pez (Heiti), a shoe salesman and wannabe stand-up comedian, lives on the West Coast. Chase (Jenny Hazelton), an esthetician and aspiring artist, lives on the East Coast. They do not know each other, but they have everything in common. Something is missing in their dull lives. They do not feel whole. Both have lost a foot in an accident.
When Pez and Chase both lose their jobs, they embark on a trip back to their parents’ homes on the other side of the country. They meet at a bus station in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the county.
The dialogue is rapid fire and witty. Both Heiti and Hazelton are good actors who have a penchant for physical theatre. They are joined on stage by Len Silvini as the weatherman, truck driver, bus rider and pilot.
Receiver of Wreck is a modern day love story with a happy ending and a happy future. The theatre festival continues at the Ukrainian National Federation Hall on Frood Road to May 13.
Theatre reviewer Vicki Gilhula is the associate publisher and editor of the Sudbury Living Magazine Group. An arts lover, she is a longtime board member of the Sudbury Arts Council and a founding member of the Mayor’s Celebration of the Arts committee.
