Get to know our special guest, Matchstick!
Halifax’s Matchstick Theatre, led by Artistic Director Jake Planinc, is taking over our stage from June 10-22 with their award-winning production of Leaving Home—all while we gear up for our 11th season (announcement coming June 25th)!
Leaving Home is a Canadian classic by beloved playwright David French (Salt-Water Moon, Of the Fields, Lately) — and this is your only chance to catch Matchstick's acclaimed revival.
To get you excited for the show, we want to introduce you to Jake, who's also the director of Leaving Home. We caught up with him to learn more about the Matchstick team, their take on this Canadian classic, and what it means to bring the show to Toronto!
Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself, and your company, Matchstick!
I grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario and was fortunate to attend a lot of theatre as a kid. My dad loves theatre and I was exposed to great plays and playwrights early in life. While I may rather have been playing basketball than seeing Uncle Vanya at eleven years old, I’m grateful for those experiences now. My dad and I still see plays together in Toronto, as well as at Shaw and Stratford. All that time in the audience has shaped the artist I’ve become. I’ve also had excellent teachers in my life. They fostered my love of the art form and gave me opportunities to act and direct from a young age.
I met Chelsea Dickie (Matchstick’s Managing Director) and Alison Crosby (Leaving Home’s lighting designer) at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. We all ended up in Halifax and kept on working together. Chelsea, Alex Mills (Matchstick’s Financial Director) and I formed Matchstick Theatre in 2017 to make the work we wanted to see. I was tired of studying established Canadian texts and never seeing them on stage. Forming a company with my close friends has been a challenging, amazing, and increasingly rewarding experience. We’re ecstatic to be bringing our work to Toronto for the first time!
Q: What made you want to bring your production of Leaving Home to Toronto and more specifically, the Coal Mine? (Why not Newfoundland or Vancouver or Alberta!)
Toronto and the Coal Mine are the perfect next spots for our production. The play is set in Toronto. Bill Glassco’s world premiere production of Leaving Home closed Tarragon’s first season. After its initial success in the early 70’s, the play went professionally unproduced for many, many years. It wasn’t until Ted Dykstra, the Coal Mine’s Chief Engineer and Artistic Director, directed it at Soulpepper in 2007 that the play got a proper second life. Our set designer Wesley Babcock is also the Head of Production at the Coal Mine, so we built the show to make this kind of move if the stars aligned. I’m grateful they have!
Q: What drew you to this play in the first place?
Leaving Home is about family and identity–how we are and are not our parents. We can’t help being like them, but there comes a time when we resist that reality and discover ourselves. Becoming a parent changed me. It brought instant clarity and purpose. It was also a moment of division: then and now, before and after, there and here. What happens–who do I become–when my child grows up and leaves? Leaving Home is full of transitional moments where established identities come apart and new ones take their place. French’s honesty and specificity lead to a universal experience that echoes across generations. The play is a masterpiece and a joy to work on; the more you give to it, the more it gives back.
Q: What will be the main differences between your original 2024 production, and this latest production in Toronto?
The main difference is that the role of Jacob Mercer is being played by Toronto actor Andrew Musselman, rather than Nova Scotia’s Hugh Thompson, who performed the role in Halifax. Netflix took Hugh from us and we wish him nothing but the best. Andrew has stepped beautifully into a challenging role and injected exciting new energy into our production. I can’t wait to watch it continue to grow.
Q: Your production originally had a limited run in Halifax in March 2024, and most of the cast will be returning. Can you tell us a bit about what the upcoming rehearsal process will look like?
We recently had a week in Nova Scotia in our favourite rehearsal hall in Dartmouth. It was amazing to see how quickly people picked it back up, not to mention how well Andrew joined in. The show continued to develop, even in that short amount of time and after more than a year off. I’m eager and ready to get into the Coal Mine for another full week with the actors before we start performances on June 10th.
Q: What’s something in this production that audiences might not expect?
David French’s plays are naturalistic and invite a particular kind of interpretation: slice of life, usually proscenium stagings with exhaustive detail. I’ve placed it in the round to make it feel like you’re peering through the windows of the Mercer household. We drew from Atlantic Canadian painters Christopher Pratt and Alex Colville to create a minimal design, informed by necessity. This approach puts French’s text in the spotlight and highlights the cast’s stellar performances.
Q: What are you most excited about?
To see the play again. I love the group and their dedication to the process. The production grows with every performance. Beyond that, this run at the Coal Mine is an enormous opportunity for our company and all the artists involved. Some of us have never had our work seen outside of Atlantic Canada. It’s not lost on me that Toronto is one of the great hubs for theatre in North America and that the Coal Mine is the city’s leading independent company. We’re honoured and humbled to be the first guest show the theatre has hosted. One of our goals at Matchstick is to be a nationally recognized producer of Canadian theatre. This definitely feels like a leap in that direction and we’re going to make the most of it.
Q: What’s your dream play to direct?
Leaving Home was at the top of my list and I’m thrilled to bring it to life again in Toronto. French’s Of the Fields, Lately is right there next to it. It’s just as good a play as Leaving Home, pretty remarkable for a sequel. Up next in Halifax, I’m directing Matchstick’s production of Michael Ross Albert’s play The Huns in Neptune Theatre’s Craig Boardroom. Michael’s a great young writer and I’m excited to be bringing his work to Atlantic Canada for the first time. I have a production of Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros that I started working on during my MFA at the University of Alberta; that’s a big one I want to keep in focus. Aeschylus’ Oresteia has always been a favourite. Chekhov’s big four are career goals, but I’m in no rush there.
Q: Last question – do you have any words of advice for arts workers looking to bring their productions to life in another city, province, or even Country?
Take your shot! Reach out to the people who inspire you and see if there’s a way to make it happen (thanks Ted). Also, plan ahead. While there was never any guarantee of our Halifax production touring, we envisioned a world in which it was possible and that informed a lot of early decisions.
