Finishing the Suit: Bear & Co. delivers a sensitive and clear production
Finishing the Suit
By Lawrence Aronovitch
Bear & Co.
Directed by Joël Beddows
Coming to terms with the past is the only way to prepare for the future. Even then, putting grief to rest is incredibly difficult.
This is the theme of Lawrence Aronovitch’s fine play, Finishing the Suit, currently having its premiere production from Bear & Co. at the Gladstone.
The title is partly drawn from the reality of completing a morning coat (also referred to as a mourning coat in the context of the script). It is also a metaphor for sewing up the past through memory and conversation.
Directed with sensitivity and clarity by Joël Beddows, the three-person cast tells of the two people that have had the greatest impact on the tailor (Matt Pilipiak), The two, David (David Whiteley) —who is to wear the morning coat in death—and Jimmy (Isaac Giles) are both dead, but remain alive in the tailor’s heart and remembrance, almost to the exclusion of his daily existence. …