Arts and Entertainment

Caledon Townhall Players presents the world premiere of ‘Bending the Truth’ by Londos D’Arrigo

November 3, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Constance Scrafield

Many great, very funny plays explore an awkward situation. “Bending the Truth” by Londos D’Arrigo is no exception. This is the World Premier for the Caledon Townhall Players (CTHP), opening Nov. 8 and over the two weekends to Nov. 15.

Simon is a struggling writer – blocked and blue for years – and Kate is his long-suffering wife. Their finances are waning, and their house is rundown in a neighbourhood to match. They cannot afford anything and sometimes look for creative ways to earn some money.

How creative Simon was one day, 20 years ago, is captured in that awkward moment when a young man knocks on the door and announces he is Simon’s son, Trevor.

How could this be? Simon reluctantly admits to having made “a donation” for money to the Bundle of Joy Fertility Clinic – yes, while he and Kate were married but childless.

Director Rose Brown remarked, “Simon is happy to meet his son who has ‘showed up ready cooked,’ as an old saying goes. Kate is not happy, but Trevor was living in his car, trying just to find his father.”

Trevor tells them he learned Simon’s identity from the fertility clinic — but how, Kate asks. Still, they could not send Simon’s own son away, so in he comes to live with them. Between Trevor’s sloppiness and who he is, the comic dialogue is raised.

There came a last-minute chance for an interview with Londos D’Arrigo to talk about his life in comedy and how thrilled he is to see this play coming up at the CTHP.

D’Arrigo travelled with the indomitable Phyllis Diller when she performed at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto and elsewhere.

“She was my mentor,” D’Arrigo told the Citizen. “She taught me a lot. Not many people are that generous. I retained a relationship with her for many years. How I met her – she was performing at the O’Keefe Centre [Meridian Hall]. I took her some jokes that I wrote, and she called me within the hour. She kept my jokes in the act for many years.”

He commented that he is still writing plays. CTHP are very supportive, and D’Arrigo loves coming to the theatre to see them.

With his plays being produced all over North America, he said, “I am living my ambition. I worked hard to get to where I am. Those years working for Joan Rivers and Lily Tomlin as well as Phyllis, I never knew what was next and that was great for me!”

Phyllis told him what to do in comedy and what not to do. The comedienne started so late in life, as D’Arrigo related. She had children and a life before comedy, and she was really grounded.

Back to Brown directing the play, who said, “The play centres on the three characters. Simon has been struggling for a long time but before it’s too late, along comes Trevor.”

Brown is pleased to say rehearsals are going really well; the actors are getting into their characters. At first, Trevor appears almost as a gangster, but perhaps appearances are deceiving, and we will have to come to see the play and discover for ourselves.

Personally, a contrast to his character, Paul Bryant, as Trevor also looks much younger than he is in this play, so Brown hinted.

Joanne Hopkinson [as Kate] is happy to be back. When she got the part of Kate, she and Kevin Wrycroft, as Simon, struck it up really well.

“Kevin is very large, portly,” Brown described him. “And Kate is a toothpick. They’re great comedy together as this couple.”

Bending the Truth is set in modern times, entirely in the front room, which is also the dining room and Simon’s office.

Come and see the world premiere of “Bending the Truth” by Londos D’Arrigo.

Rose Brown promises: “It’s very funny and the actors are amazing!

“There is a real twist to the ending,” she said.

Tickets are on sale now at caledontownhallplayers.com/online-ticket-orders/ or by calling 519-927-5460.

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