‘Beyond the Sea’ at Lunchbox is pure romcom — including cheese

In the midst of productions featuring murders, ghosts, and rock and roll, Lunchbox Theatre comes forward with something a little sweeter in the form of Beyond the Sea, a rom-com one act featuring two familiar faces in Calgary theatre.

On a pier in a small town, two strangers meet — both carrying loss, both ready for a second chance, and you just know, something is about to click.

Actor Meg Farhall plays Gwen, “a quick-witted loner selling tickets for a boat tour,” opposite Mike Tan as Theo, “a newly single man waiting for a long overdue date.”

“It’s a piece of two people who are a little bit, you know, maybe in the over 35, over 40 crowd,” Farhall says. “And they’re getting a second chance. Both of them are rebuilding their lives after some loss for different various reasons. And they find an unexpected connection. It’s, it’s really heartwarming to see what happens between these two people who are carrying some heavy experiences with them.”

Tan says it’s rare to find a story this grounded that still manages to surprise.

“It’s kind of hard to get a surprise out of a rom-com,” he says. “But I think the plausibility of it is really nice.”

He says particularly right now,  comedy is a relief valve. Even while the characters are exploring the effects of grief and loss, “on stage — you can feel it, you can hear the reactions from people. And to be in community with this chorus of laughter, and know that you’re not avoiding things, that you’re processing the feelings you might be having while watching the show… that’s a pretty novel and important thing.”

For both actors, Beyond the Sea feels different from their past work, and familiar to who they are personally.

Farhall, who you may recall from Theatre Calgary’s Blithe Spirit, or Beautiful Man, a co-production between Handsome Alice, Verb and Downstage is not one to shy away from exploring intensity on stage, but admits this part isn’t a hard stretch.

“I think of a lot of the characters I’ve played, this character is probably the most like myself.” Farhall calls her authentic but maximum silly, “something I learned about myself is this character will kind of have outbursts and, and kind of raise their voice unexpectedly. And I realized that is so true to me.”

Tan’s last role was in the Da Vinci Code at Vertigo as that monk.

“It’s nice to just be a bit more of a regular person who is not at a period piece or is not a flagellating monk with like white-out contact lenses and an accent,” Tan says. “It’s nice to just be myself.”

Both actors agree the show is fun for the whole family, and this writer agrees it is a true delight.

Beyond the Sea runs Oct. 14 to Nov. 2 at Lunchbox Theatre.

More information can be found here.