While the leaves turn orange, the stage turns green.

If you’re looking for something to do this month and escape the autumn chill, you might want to grab some friends and check out the opening play for Persephone Theatre’s 50th Season. 

Native Gardens, a comedy by Karen Zacarías, follows the unconventional but hilarious disagreement between neighbors over a fence. Despite the age-old lesson of loving thy neighbour, this play follows two couples as they duke it out in exceedingly hilarious ways in the name of achieving their dream garden. The comedic merits of the play appeal to all ages, so even audience members with no experience owning a home will walk away in stitches.

“I’m delighted to be opening our 50th Anniversary Season with this incredible comedy,” said the Artistic Director, Heather Cant. “We have a hilarious cast of actors, and knowing how passionate people on the prairies can be about their plants, I just know our audiences will have a fun night out with this show – and maybe even a better relationship with their neighbours when they go home!”

While the play is lighthearted and fun, it also touches on some pretty heavy topics in an artfully tasteful way. Zacarías manages to cover complex topics like differences in socio-economic class and culture while also showing the audience a good time. 

“This play is unlike anything I’ve read before. Karen Zacarías is a fantastic playwright and can navigate and explore complex conversations through a neighbour’s dispute between two couples with very different lived experiences,” explained Alexandra Lainfiesta, who plays Tania in the production. 

“The wisdom lies within the absurdity. It is a well-written (comedy) that will make you laugh, gasp, reflect and have long post-show conversations to dissect the themes explored.”

Native Gardens navigates and addresses hard-to-broach topics in a way everyone can understand, using neighborly disputes as a metaphor for real world conflicts we see on a daily basis. 

Even if it’s through the medium of wacky hijinks, the audience can really feel the more serious underbelly of the issues at hand, demonstrating Zacarías’ ability to handle sensitive issues with tact.

Lainfiesta explained that Zacarías said in an interview, “most conflicts in the world can be boiled down to differences over property, taste, class and culture.”

“The playwright does so with humor and nuanced characters that challenge stereotypes: The young Latino immigrant is an accomplished lawyer, the Latina whose family has been in the USA for generations is finishing her PhD in anthropology, the older woman is an accomplished engineer on her way to full retirement and her husband is an avid gardener who worked for the “service” in his past life,” she explained. 

“The goal of the play is not for the audience to judge these characters but for the

audience to see through humor, a mirror held up to their own nature, and have them ask how good of a neighbour am I?”

Native Gardens highlights the beauty and importance of having diversity within a community. It sheds light on the struggles of Latinx peoples in the US, and gives them a platform to tell their stories. By bringing this work to life the theatre has provided representation for the Latinx community in Saskatoon and its artists on its main stage. 

Audience members from all walks of life can come together around the shared values in the play, regardless of any differences in race, class, culture, or life experiences. 

Native Gardens marks a historical moment for the theatre as it opens its doors for the 50th year. Audience members are invited to come by and enjoy a night full of laughs, insightful banter, and representation, from September 25th to October 6th, 2024.

Quotes courtesy of Persephone Theatre.