Breezy Summer Fare Opens PSFT’s 2025 Season
Reviewed by Sookie Mei
Dump Guys, written by former Artistic Director Simon Joynes, kicks off the 2025 Summer Season at Port Stanley Festival Theatre, a tribute to the man that shaped the theatre for nearly two decades. Opening night featured a heartfelt introduction by current AD Liz Gilroy, highlighting Joynes’ legacy at PSFT, and happily noting that his good friend Murray Furrow was the guest director for the production.
As soon as the audience enters the theatre, the set is striking and engaging. Designed by Joe Recchia, doing double duty as lighting designer, the stage is quite literally a dump, piled high with old tires and license plates and interesting objects like a mannequin, a red telephone, and even a couple of feet sticking out from the pile. It’s a great backdrop to the story.
The show is about two former friends who had a falling out at the end of high school when they both fell for the same girl, Maggie. Decades later, an unseen Maggie has brought them together again in the dump she owned, and they are forced to explore some long-held grudges and move forward. It’s a show about regret, nostalgia, memory, first love, and moving on to live in the here and now.
Right off the top, the dialogue is affable and engaging, letting us know the show is going to be fun and we can settle in for an entertaining ride. The humour is more chuckles than belly laughs, but the script maintains a constant level of jolliness throughout. There could be more varied levels in the tone – at times it feels somewhat repetitive and comes off a bit glib – and some explorations of different vocal ranges would be a nice change. But there is some very clever writing, and even timely mentions of the always-losing Maple Leafs and the differences between Canada and the US.
The acting is top-notch, with John Fray as Ted and Mark McGrinder as Duane playing off each other easily and genuinely. Fray’s Ted is a lonely gas station owner who doesn’t have much of a life, and he plays the straight, square rule follower quite well. McGrinder’s Duane is Ted’s opposite in every way – a family man who dresses and acts shabbily and never met a rule he couldn’t break. This is a modern-day Odd Couple, two guys who look at life in completely different ways, and it is fun to see them interact and attempt to work together. The actors definitely seem like people who have known each other, and known each other well, for a long time.
A few moments are genuinely surprising, such as a song that the audience feels compelled to join in on, and the quick pace of the show – it is a bit of a shock when the lights go down at the end of the first act. AD Liz Gilroy jokes that Simon loved a show that is under two hours, so this is par for the course!
Dump Guys is perfect for summer theatre – light and fun, with a few deeper moments, but ultimately ending up with a feel-good resolution. This is what PSFT does best, and judging from the crowd response, Dump Guys is a roaring success.
Dump Guys continues at the Port Stanley Festival Theatre (PSFT) until May 31. Tickets are available at the PSFT box office at 519-782-4353 or 1-855-782-4353, or visit https://psft.ca
Photo: John Fray as Ted, Mark McGrinder as Duane. Photo by Shutter Studios.
Dump Guys
Written by Simon Joynes
Directed by Murray Furrow
Stage Managed by Meghan Specht
Set/Lighting Design by Joe Recchia
Costumes by Alex Amini
Performed by John Fray and Mark McGrinder
Port Stanley Festival Theatre, Bridge Street, Port Stanley
May 21 to 31, 2025