I attended a media preview of this show. All opinions are my own.

 Shameless Hussy Productions in association with Surrey Civic Theatres present the world premiere of To Perfection September 14th to 17th at the Surrey Arts Centre’s Studio Theatre. (13750 88 Ave)

I had the pleasure of attending Meghan Gardiner’s “To Perfection” and highly recommend it. Gloria, a former celebrity TV chef is played by Patti Allan. She reunites with her estranged grandchild, Alex. Chaos ensues when Alex, played by Colton Ludwar, comes out as non-
binary. The play mindfully and respectfully tackles how there is a learning curve when it comes to family members and conversations around gender fluidity. The play is essentially about Gloria and Alex rekindling a family bond because of a school project. Alex must interview a
family member for an assignment, and this is what connects the two once again. Both characters were very strong and were enjoyable to watch. They had a great on-stage presence. You could really relate to the dynamic because it’s quite common for grandparents and
grandchildren to not totally get each other. I could imagine myself rolling my eyes at my own grandmother when I was a young child. I loved how Gloria’s character was so vibrant and animated. She is the epitome of a traditional grandmother, and the fact that her character was
a former celebrity TV chef, really shines through. Although she didn’t necessarily understand Alex’s personal struggles and journey, she showed interest in learning. Her openness was refreshing. Alex’s character was very guarded and sarcastic. He didn’t feel emotionally safe
around Gloria and it showed. I really felt for his character. He just longed for support and unconditional love. Alex came around eventually, but his anger towards his grandmother was palpable. He hadn’t forgiven her for her past misgivings. Through interviewing his grandmother,
he was able to get to know her as a person and connect the dots. It was sad that it took a school project for the two to reunite, but such is life. One of my favourite scenes was when they were discussing boozing up the tea that Gloria had made for them. It was simply delightful.
The juxtaposition of her squeaky clean image along with the bottle of alcohol and the tea cups was very amusing. This wasn’t the only funny scene, as there were many. Although the subject matter at hand was very heavy, the way that it was carried out, was in a light-hearted and
entertaining way. It was a truly balanced recipe. The play highlighted the “genderational” divide that very much exists in our society. The takeaway is to be receptive to bridging the gap by having open and honest exchanges. “To Perfection” is creating a dialogue around gender,
acceptance, learning and growing. I believe that these conversations are important in order to better understand one another. Asking questions and seeking knowledge is paramount to uniting people together. The world needs more plays like “To Perfection”.

If you are looking for LGBTQIA resources in Canada to help bridge your own “genderational” divide please visit: LGBTQ – The LifeLine Canada Foundation