About the Play:

Can You See Me Yet? is a full-length drama by Timothy Findley. In 1938, when the world is about to go mad with war, an asylum for the insane seems to offer sanctuary for its patients. But as a newcomer stands in the heart of the asylum, confusing her fellow inmates with members of her own ill-fated family, the question arises: "Can anyone find sanctuary anywhere?"

Can You See Me Yet? presents a look at life within an Ontario asylum. In 1938, in a world on the brink of World War Two, it was hard for Canadian citizens hurt by the Great Depression to feel safe; for individuals who could not even find sanctuary within their own minds, it was impossible. The story centres around Cassandra Wakelin who arrives in the asylum garden from a stint of solitary. She is disorientated by the striking familiarity the other patients have with the faces and family of her past. She finds herself confusing her fellow inmates with members of her own troubled family. The actors play dual roles as Cassandra relives her past in a series of flashbacks that are stuck somewhere between fantasy and reality.

Can You See Me Yet? premiered in 1976 at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Since then the play has been produced widely at professional and community theatres across Canada, the US and UK, and has performed in high school and college theatre productions as a showcase of student talent.

Cast: 7 female, 4 male

What people say:

"Can You See Me Yet? seems to me to be an astonishing work, richly textured, sombre, and yet possessing a relieving wit. It's angry and impassioned about people's maltreatment of one another, and yet in places it not only speaks of the possibility of gentleness — it shows gentleness happening." — Margaret Laurence

"Can You See Me Yet? not only illustrates the anger and abuse we impose on each other but also shows the tenderness that we as humans are capable of." — The Edmonton Journal

About the Playwright:

Timothy Findley (1930-2002) was one of Canada's most prolific and colourful writers. In a career that spanned almost five decades, he produced novels, short stories, plays and essays. Born in Toronto, he worked as an actor in Canada and abroad from 1948 to 1962 until he was encouraged to begin writing by Thornton Wilder and Ruth Gordon. He wrote award-winning fiction, non-fiction and dramas for radio and television. He re-entered the theatre as a playwright in 1976 with the publication of Can You See Me Yet?.