The Exquisite Hour, written by Edmonton playwright Stewart Lemoine, is a sweet ode to bygone days when the world’s knowledge seemed to be contained in encyclopedias and peddled by a door-to-door salesman.
Or in this case, saleswoman. Helen Darimont is a chirpy, charming, be-gloved lady in 1962, interrupting pleasant bachelor Zachary Teale late in the afternoon as he sips lemonade in his backyard, to politely ask him for an hour of his time.
Over that hour, shy Zack is pulled out of his shell by Helen as they act out scenarios from one encyclopedia volume, and he becomes the open book she reads. They charm and connect—with each other and with the audience—before the play ends, exquisitely, 60 minutes from when it began.