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So what happens when a middle-aged fisherman who has never known anything but the sea becomes attracted to a woman? That's the question posed by the late Gardner McKay's "Sea Marks," a two-character drama opening Monday at Manoa Valley Theatre for a two-day run. Love conquers not quite all
By Tim Ryan
tryan@starbulletin.comMcKay starred in the 1960s television series "Adventures in Paradise" and, after traveling for years, returned to the United States and began a writing career. He died last fall at age 69.
"Sea Marks" stars Peter Clark as Colm, the fisherman, and Annie MacLachlan as Timothea, a Liverpool divorcee.
Timothea, a publisher's assistant, faces loneliness and lovelessness in Liverpool, England, and Colm is a simple, poorly educated fisherman with a penchant for writing simple poetry when the two meet at a local wedding.
Here's the rub. Colm, 50, is a confirmed bachelor. In his rugged Irish outpost, men don't court women unless they plan to get married. So it's a bit of a surprise that he strikes up a correspondence with Timothea, though the messages he sends her aren't exactly love letters. They describe life at sea, while hinting at his interest in her.
"He realizes, though a bit reluctantly, how much he's missing and that he's not getting any younger," says Clark, who has been working on the stage in London the last eight years. "He's looking for something new because there is some loneliness creeping into his life."
But don't think for a moment that Colm is sad, Clark says.
"He loves his life and the people around him like other fishermen," Clark says. "He experiences tremendous joy in his life on the sea and it doesn't seem likely he will give that up."
But Colm's attraction to Timothea is intense, though at first she cannot even remember their first meeting.
"It's a different kind of love story in that these two people may come from similar backgrounds but now want very different things," Clark says. "She lives in the city; he lives on a small island."
When: 7:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday 'Sea Marks'
Where: Manoa Valley Theatre, 2833 E. Manoa Road
Tickets: $15
Call: 988-6131
Timothea was raised on a poor farm in Wales where even as a young girl she was forced to work hard.
"Timothea doesn't want that kind of life again," Clark said. "She's very happy with her job in publishing and quite ambitious.
"Colm can't remember a time when he didn't fish."
Timothea is captivated by Colm's writing. "She understands his gift, but also appreciates the rustic, unpolished aspects of Colm," Clark says. "They are familiar spirits moving in opposite directions and that means tension."
In the long run, love doesn't necessarily conquer all, and opposites do not always make the best attraction to each other, said Clark, who at first was frightened about taking on the role on several levels. The challenges became the reasons he took the part.
"I had never done a play with just two actors," he said. "The accent was difficult to learn, and there is a large amount of dialogue to memorize, but it's also well-written with an excellent director."
Clark, like Colm, also loves the sea, having spent three years in the Navy.
"l loved every minute of it," he said. "We were in some hellish storms in the North Pacific, but I loved it. When Colm talks of being at sea in his fishing boat, it brings back all my own experiences."
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