It’s a subject that has been debated by politicians, health care professionals, and anyone who has had to make one of the toughest decisions of his or her life.
The right to die.
Stemming from the 1993 Sue Rodriguez case, where the Supreme Court of Canada ruled against giving the terminally ill the right to die, and the more recent decision by the court to allow doctor-assisted suicide in very specific cases, playwright Arthur Milner’s personal story, told in his play Getting to Room Temperature, could not be more timely or poignant.
The fourth of five presentations in the Vernon Performing Arts Centre Society’s theatre series, the hard hitting, sentimental and funny one-man show stages at the centre Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
A mostly true-to-life tale about Milner’s own experience, Getting to Room Temperature tells the story of Milner’s mother, Rose, who at 93-and-a-half, took a turn for the worse from her healthy and active lifestyle.
Milner tells in his story how he accompanied her to the doctor and it was there where she asked if she could die.
The doctor refused.
“Rose’s decline and polite quest for euthanasia take us on an emotional journey into grudgingly explored territory,” said the Room Temperature Collective, which is producing the play, directed by Milner.
“Inspired by this debate, along with his own experience, and his need to laugh in the face of death, and respond to the questions that lie at the heart of our lives, The Room Temperature Collective has set out to develop Milner’s touching exploration of the death of a parent.”
Said to be told with humour, wisdom, irony, and a deep connection to lives gone before, Getting to Room Temperature invites audiences into an honest and wry conversation about aging and dying in Canada.
Tickets for Getting to Room Temperature are $25 for adults, $22 for seniors and $20 for students. Call the Ticket Seller at 250-549-7469 or log online to www.ticketseller.ca for tickets and more information. General audience recommended is age 10-plus.