Three years ago, my friend David Nairn asked me to write a play for the two of us. A play that we could perform down in the warm climate of Florida when we got older. Perhaps perform it in senior’s homes in the Sunshine State while basking by the pool and sipping umbrella-festooned drinks during our off hours. I said, “Okay.  Sounds like a good idea to me.” And with that, I wrote Jonas and Barry in the Home.

I think the first title for the play was actually Jack and Terry in the Home, but those names didn’t ring true to me.  They sounded more like a couple of cartoon characters.  A rat and a beaver maybe. So, I changed it to Jonas and Barry. Soon after I began writing the play, I decided to add a third role, that of Rosie, because I thought it might add another dimension to the lives of these two men, and it might also be good to have a woman’s story being told in the play. I do like writing for women. Plus it would be fewer lines for David and myself to learn if we had a third character sharing the load. And so the play was born. Over the past two years David and Erin and I have toured Jonas and Barry extensively up here in Canada, but we haven’t made it to Florida yet. The best laid plans I guess.

-Norm Foster