Kerry Davidson's two previous theatrical roles with the Arts Club Theatre Company were fixed in 19th century England and 20th century France.
Currently, she's the main actor in anytime B.C. as the owner of a run-down bar on the northern waterfront, which is one setting she -- like many left-coasters -- can completely envision well before engaging it on stage.
"I went to high school in Steveston, so... I won't say I ever went there, but there was a place or two around then just like it," laughed the affable Davidson, who plays the gritty Gertie in the theatre production, The Sea Horse, running this week until Saturday at Coquitlam's Evergreen Cultural Centre.
Davidson told The Tri-City News she gets a real kick out of her latest acting gig, in which she portrays a hard-scrabbled, stubborn and bitter bar owner whose life is altered by Harry (Daryl King), a seaman of limited means but unlimited dreams who engages in a stormy romance with Gertie, combining in concert the two natural forces of attraction and disdain for each other.
"She's fun to play," Davidson said of Gertie in what the theatre group's promotional staff have dubbed A Salty Love Story.
"She's tough, ballsy and brassy... a tough nut to crack [who's] been around the block and back. We all know someone like that. I even recognize a few of those qualities in myself."
Replete with both humour and drama, Davidson said The Sea Horse director, Sarah Rogers, and the cast do everything to make the play as realistic as impossible, right down to the at-times gruff language that's true to its surroundings.
"It's the way people talk in a bar," Davidson said. "But it really is a love story."
Said Rogers in a press release: "This beautiful and moving tale is my favourite kind of love story -- set in a waterfront bar," which carries the identical name of the play itself. "I am so excited to work with... the fiery and funny Kerry Davidson, who possesses that rare combination of great depth and great comedy, and Daryl King, a hot, upcoming actor."
The Sea Horse was first presented at the Arts Club's Seymour Street location in Vancouver in 1975.
"It has long been one of my favourite plays," said Bill Millerd, Arts Club's artistic managing director. in a release. "I know this production will be a fabulous evening of theatre with two superb performers appearing in such a touching love story."
To purchase tickets, call 604-927-6555.
