I went to watch Canadian Stage’s “My Name is Lucy Barton” with by bookclub friends downtown last Friday.

It was a field trip of sorts because we had read and discussed this New York Times bestseller almost a year ago. 

So when the play came to our city, it only made sense that we planned to watch it.

It turned out to be a one actor play.

As the title suggests, the book is narrated in first person by the character Lucy Barton.

The play follows that same format of Lucy telling us the story of her life, as played by Maev Beaty. The actor voices the parts of Lucy’s mother and father in some scenes. But the story is told by Lucy to the audience with a hospital bed, and a chair on the stage, along with changing backdrop and spotlights.

Two props, one actor, 105 minutes.

It seems impossible that the audience would be engaged the whole time with just that much.

It seems impossible that the actor could act and talk for that long all on her own.

It seems impossible that her voice would not give out.

But that’s obviously not what happened. 

Maev Beaty had us enthralled the whole way through.

She moved around the props and the stage effectively. She went through a myriad of emotions in front of us as the story went on.

Her body language and voice change as she became the mother’s character were brilliant. The rage of the father character had me shaken. The vulnerability of Lucy Barton was laid bare for us to witness.

Adapted by Rona Munro and directed by Jackie Maxwell, this play follows very closely in details with the book, and manages to portray the essence of it really well.

The changing of spotlights and backdrops are the only action that really happens in the play, but it’s plenty. They mirror the character’s emotions and settings in the various parts of the telling.

No more is really needed.

This is the brilliant bit of directing that makes this minimal play feel complete.

Of course, for the audience, it is Maev Beaty’s just right touch without resorting to over-the-top telling that keeps this play alive and kicking.

I am thankful to have witnessed this haunting live adaptation of a great book. I would watch it again if given a chance just to absorb that brilliant acting some more.