Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre continues its 2024-25 season with the play Casey and Diana. Written by Nick Green, the play is inspired by the historic visit of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, to Toronto’s Casey House in 1991, at the height of the AIDS crisis.
“[Casey House] is an AIDS hospice,” said actor Noah Beemer. “[The play] basically follows a few of the characters in the hospice in the week leading up to a visit from Princess Diana.” While Diana appears as herself, the other characters are fictional, though the story is based on real events.
Beemer plays Andre, a new resident whose arrival opens the play.
“It’s kind of an impossible situation [Andre]’s being faced with,” Beemer explained. “He’s a young man in his early 20s, and he sort of just arrived to Toronto less than a year ago to start his life and to find a queer community and to discover himself […] And then very quickly, once getting there, he gets an AIDS diagnosis and finds out he’s going to die.”
Beemer described Andre as “sad” and “angry” for much of the play, frustrated by his situation. However, he ultimately finds the community he was searching for at Casey House.
Despite the heaviness of the role, Beemer said he enjoys playing Andre and discovering humour within the character.
“Andre specifically is a character that I have so much love for […] he is such a character that breaks my heart,” Beemer said. “I think something that I’ve loved finding honestly, has been the humour and the joy in the character and in the play. I think on the surface it can sound like a challenging watch, which in some ways it is, but I do want to emphasize that it’s a really funny show.”
Humour plays a key role in the show, despite its heavy themes. Beemer explained that residents of Casey House used humour as a coping mechanism, which is reflected in the interactions between Andre and the other characters.
“That’s been a fun thing for me with Andre to find the humour with him and the joy and the laughter, because that’s so important. I mean, especially for someone in that situation, that’s like one of the most important things to find,” he said.
Beemer has enjoyed working with the rest of the cast during production and praised director Andrew Kushnir for creating a safe and exciting environment.
“He’s equipped us so well to do the show,” Beemer said. “We were given incredible research materials […] just to kind of enrich our understanding of the world and the time period. And he has such a history with this play and was able to bring so much knowledge and care to it.”
According to Beemer, audiences have been surprised by the comedy and humour in the play.
“The amount of laughter in the audience, it has been quite boisterous and surprising and lovely. That was a really great thing to discover […] just how much fun and joy there was in the audience, in spite of the challenges and the sadness in the show as well.”
Beemer hopes the play leaves audiences reflecting on love, community and supporting one another.
“I think especially right now, the world is in a bit of an intense and potentially scary place. And it feels really special to be doing this show that is so much about love and humanity and people helping other people in the most dire and difficult circumstances,” he said.
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s Casey and Diana runs until April 12 at the John Hirsch Mainstage. For tickets and more information, visit royalmtc.ca.
