Of the Fields, Lately

Mercer series

by David Benson French

A son returns after an absence of two years to find both his mother and family friend Wiff trying to sustain his father, Jacob. A heart attack has forced Jacob out of work, and he can't reconcile himself to his frightening situation. The characters all discover something about themselves under this pressure of imminent death.

Of the Fields, Lately won the Chalmers Award in 1973.

Genres: Plays, Theatre

118 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

David Benson French, OC was a Canadian playwright, most noted for his "Mercer Plays" series.

Reviews

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second play in David French's Mercer Family Pentalogy (that's a real word; look it up) is a strong as the first ("Leaving Home"). Years after the original, elder son Ben returns home for a family funeral to discover his long-estranged father is seriously ill to the point that he shouldn't be working in construction any more. This leads to a series of well-written confrontations with Ben, his parents and his uncle dealing with family estrangement, aging and the loss of roots (the Mercer family has moved to Toronto from Newfoundland and never feels quite at home). Although written in the 1970s, the play captures timeless human conflicts and would be a great choice for a theatre with access to older access. And why is "Leaving Home" the only one of his plays to be filmed (or rather videotaped)?

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second play in the Mercer trilogy, the family is now a bit older, and the boys have moved away. Ben returns home for the funeral of his aunt and discovers that his father has been ill and his mother had been hiding this information from him to avoid a further blow out, like the one that occurs at the end of Leaving Home. The beginning of this play has such a beautiful description of how a wall can come to exist between two men, brick by brick. It can take many years to form, but once solidified, it can be impossible to break through. This play is enveloped in sadness, about what cannot be said between father and son, about the pride that can cause so many problems and cause so much pain. Beautiful writing, really evocative of a Newfoundland family.

[Garth Mailman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mercer series
Of the Fields, Lately
David Benson French

This second of the plays begins 2 years later when Ben comes home from working in Saskatchewan for his Aunt Dot’s funeral and learns his father has had a heart attack at 52. Ben is 20. Jacob loves his son but can’t help himself but to be always nattering away at him. Dot’s widowered husband Wiff complicates matters.

The play begins and ends with Ben turned directly to the audience.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent continuation of the story

[Lucile Barker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second of the Mercer family plays. Ben unexpected returns to the Mercer home in Toronto for the funeral of his aunt Dot. He had not been told that his father, Jacob, has had a heart attack and is out of work. Mary has been holding things together. The new widower, Wiff, is consoling himself with booze. The title of the play itself comes when he is musing that flowers don’t smell of the fields, lately. He has some of the best monologues when he is talking about his life with Dot. I almost wish that the offstage dust up in the funeral home was onstage. Ben offers to come home and take care of things. Jacob insists that he is going back to work. It is Mary who understands that Jacob’s pride will be injured so badly that Ben’s return will kill him just as quickly as the job will. Ben does leave, but unlike Leaving Home, there is only sadness and not anger.