John Murphy says that “lefty liberals” often think of Trump supporters as a bunch of uneducated rubes. Moreover, the Vancouver theatre artist is eager to challenge that assumption by directing Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning. The play’s five characters are actually well-educated Trump voters who debate political issues with some of the same intensity as their liberal intellectual counterparts.
“They’re all right-wing, conservative Christians—characters that you don’t see on stage very often,” Murphy tells Pancouver over Zoom. “Theatre people like us are a bunch of left-wing liberals, and most of the audience are a bunch of left-wing liberals. So, you’re seeing this part of the population that normally is not in a play. They’re kind of underrepresented.”
Four characters in Heroes of the Fourth Turning previously attended a small Catholic college in Wyoming. A week after the Charlottesville white supremacist rally in 2017, they’ve reunited to celebrate the new incoming college president. According to Murphy, they all have different ideas about how to improve the world.
“We tend to think that the left and the right are monoliths of thought,” Murphy notes. “And what this play proves is that they’re not.”
Heroes of the Fourth Turning was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Mitch and Murray Productions will present the Western Canadian premiere at Studio 16 in Vancouver from January 31 to February 9.
Murphy is thrilled with the cast, which includes Emily Barrett, Nyiri Karakas, David Kaye, and Mitch and Murray Productions artistic director Aaron Craven as the four friends from college. Seasoned actor Jennifer Clement plays the older character.
Murphy describes them as acting “thoroughbreds”.
“So, you want to let them get out in the field and run free.”
New York critics praised Heroes
However, Murphy also acknowledges pushing them. For example, the director challenged Craven to physically transform himself for the role of Justin, an outdoor enthusiast.
The play’s title draws upon a 1997 book, The Fourth Turning: What the Cycles of History Tell Us About America’s Next Rendezvous with Destiny, by William Strauss and Neil Howe. The authors’ theory of generational cycles greatly influenced the worldview of Trump’s former campaign manager, Steve Bannon. The ideas in the book led Bannon him to conclude that a U.S. war with China was inevitable. Karakas’s character in Heroes of the Fourth Turning is a Bannon devotee.
Even though the play addresses serious themes, Arbery injected plenty of humour into the dialogue.
“The guy is an incredible writer,” Murphy emphasizes.
The critics agreed, with Jessie Green calling it “an astonishing play” in the New York Times. Vulture’s Sara Holdren described Heroes of the Fourth Turning as “stunning” and “so frighteningly well written”.
Then, there was this from Vinson Cunningham in The New Yorker: “Much of the thrill of the play comes in hearing ultraconservative ideas—scarce on New York stages—discussed in earnest, and carried to their most ominous conclusions.”
Murphy credits Mitch and Murray Productions for presenting this play while so many people are living within their own ideological echo chambers. In particular, the director praises Craven for his passion for acting and writing, as well as his willingness to challenge audiences’ comfort levels.
“I think he’s such an intrepid, fearless producer.”
Murphy raised in a Catholic home
Murphy is well-suited to helm Heroes of the Fourth Turning. Not only has he directed more than two dozen plays, he has insights into the characters’ faith. He was raised in Edmonton as the son of bred-to-the-bone Irish immigrant Catholics.
“It was like growing up with people from medieval times,” Murphy recalls. “We would say the Rosary Friday night; we would do Confession on Saturday; we would go to church every Sunday for 17 years. I did this—and I went to a Catholic school. All my friends were Catholic.”
The director describes himself as a lapsed Catholic. Yet he remembers Catholic prayers as a result of constantly repeating them.
“Bring up anyone up Irish Catholic and you’re going to turn them into an atheist or totally devout,” Murphy quips. “Some people in my family are still devout Catholics. So, I definitely understand the world.”
Mitch and Murray Productions present Will Arbery’s Heroes of the Fourth Turning at Studio 16 (1555 West 7th Avenue) at 8 p.m. on January 31, February 1, and February 4 to 8. (Tuesday through Saturday). Matinees will be at 2 p.m. on February 2, 5, 8, and 9. For tickets and more information, visit the Mitch and Murray Productions website.
Follow Pancouver on Twitter @PancouverMedia and on Instagram @PancouverMedia. Follow Charlie Smith @charliesmithvcr.bsky.social.
