The Langley Players Drama Club  presents The Last Real Summer, directed by Angela Bell.

The Langley Players open their 41st season with a piece of Canadiana by playwright Warren Graves.

The Last Real Summer is a memory piece set in the 1980s, with its main protagonist, Elizabeth Wharton (Kathleen Driscoll), reflecting upon the defining moments of her adolescence in the late 1930s. This dramatic, funny and heartwarming play explores those moments in our past that form the people we become.

A familiar stage presence to the Langley Players, Angela Bell, makes her directorial debut with a play that is close to her heart and quite familiar to her.

Angela once portrayed the young Elizabeth in a production.  

“Playing the role of Lizzie Tingley is one of my fondest, and first, memories in community theatre,” says Bell. 

“It’s a very different perspective, of course, being on the other side — watching these actors work so hard to bring my interpretation of the story to life, and yet at the same time bring something of themselves into each role, has been fascinating and fulfilling.  

“It really has come full circle for me, and I’d have to say this time around trumps the first. 

“The story is so skillfully written, the playwright has done such a magical job of painting a picture of the memories of Elizabeth Tingley, that the story has stayed near and dear to my heart these past 21 years. 

“There is something for everyone to relate to in the story, and I hope all who experience it come away with a rekindled fondness for their own memories, and perhaps a better understanding of themselves.” 

Also making their Langley Players debuts are Shelby Cairns as young Lizzie, Gabriel Hamilton as her first love, Douglas Cameron, and Liane Berlin as Lizzie’s mother, Molly Tingley.  Rounding out the stellar cast are Langley Players’ Dorothy Ludwig as Kathy Wharton, Dave Williams as Herbert Tingley, Joe Tenta as Duncan Cameron, and Margaret Dyck as Peggy Cameron.

As with all Langley Players productions the show couldn’t go on without the talent and creativity of the many volunteers who comprise the theatre troupe.

Nicole Burt’s inspired costuming and Barbara O’Neill’s carefully crafted set decoration, both add to the authenticity and lovely ambience of a tale that spans the decades between the onset of the Second World War and the 1980s. Supported by music from the ’30s and ’40s, carefully selected by the director herself, the show takes its audience on a journey into the past. 

The Last Real Summer runs from Oct. 15 to Nov. 14, with a curtain time of 8 p.m., on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and a curtain time of 2 p.m. for Sunday matinees.

Phone 604-534-7469 to reserve.