Janet Irwin. Courtesy of themostexquisitemoments.com

In her work as a director and playwright, Janet Irwin has never seemed preoccupied with sexual politics, but she’s never steered clear of it either. The subject may be theatre’s original theme, but as early as the mid-1970s, Irwin was adding value to the theme with crisp contemporary dialogue that never let her philosophy get in the way of her comedy.

When she first started adapting Brian Doyle’s novels of youth for the stage in 1990 (Easy Avenue), she added adolescent angst to her growing list of interpretative skills.  By mixing Cosi Fan Tutte’s “immoral text” with the hormones run amok of six characters in her latest play They All Do It, Irwin accepts the job of showing us that gender and age are no determinants of looking foolish in love’s grip.

They All Do It, running until August 29 at Strathcona Park, is Odyssey Theatre’s first outdoor performance in two years. Irwin’s story is familiar: that the passion of youth is fickle and easy to manipulate, and we’re all young at heart and therefore susceptible to deception. But in a modern Ottawa setting, her task is to draw compassion out of misinterpretation. Not an easy job for such a literary theme.

Despina and Tony Do It. Courtesy of Odessey Theatre.

Opening night, beautiful sunset, bug repellant supplied but not needed, an intimate, near-capacity audience of about 200:

1 – Smart dialogue right from the first line; fast-paced but not distracting. If this is typical, the evening will pass all too quickly.

2 – Is the Commedia dell’arte mask on bistro owner and provocateur Tony (Ben Clost) hiding impropriety or weakness? “Three-time cuckold” offers a prediction.

3 –  Devoted to a pledge of sexual abstinence, sisters Lili (Charlotte Gowdy) and Lark (Emma Hunter) have been “tragically burned, but now we’ve matured.” Umm, no girls, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

4 – Their babysitter Despina (Kelly Rigole) hides lost innocence behind her mask. Or maybe it’s the corrupting influence of craving fame and money. Either way she’s a hoot.

5 -  This play is hilarious.

6 – Despina to Lili and Lark: “The Goddess (Aphrodite) is very pro-sex.” To Tony: “you gotta be 40; you’re past (sexual) needs.  Irwin’s genius at keeping philosophy out of the way of comedy.

7 – Franklin (Andy Cockburn) and Wilder (Matt O’Connor) begin their deception as film producers. Lame stereotype for lame characters. Women’s dialogue so much more resonant.

8 – Director Paul Griffin has mined well his day job as a high-school drama teacher to capture the “smugness of youth.”

9 – Lark is one riveting, animated exclamation point. Hope we see more of Hunter in Ottawa theatre.

10 – Intermission at the 60-minute mark. Brilliant performance has bumped the stunning evening right out of conversation in the candy line-up.

11 – The deception works; rationalizing begins. Time to teach the boys a lesson.

12 – It’s all up to fate now, and there’s always the Goddess to blame if things don’t work out. Irwin’s minor segue into contemporary cynicism.

13 – Where is John Armstrong’s musical score that is supposed to remind us that we’re really watching an operatic theme?

14 – The girls discover the deception, and we expect fireworks from Irwin’s wicked pen.

15 – Franklin and Wilder stumble through Lili and Lark’s accusations. No fireworks.

16 – Dialogue seems bogged down, becoming all too obvious – Midsummer Night’s Dream meets Sleepless in Seattle.

17 – Lark admits her cheating was really “self-actualizing.” It’s the last laugh of the evening.

18 – Despina and Tony reveal that in love, honesty is the best policy. The comedy now swamped by philosophy.

19 – I’m  surprised by how different the writing was in the second half of the play compared to the first.

20 – Audience loved it. Sporadic standing ovation from a very contented crowd.