‘Friend of My Youth’is a tale of love and betrayal between two sisters and a mysterious, sombre man who comes to live on their austere Canadian farm.

‘Friend’ opens with the narrator’s memories of her mother who lived briefly on the farm when she was a young teacher and later often recounted the story of the two sisters to her daughter.

The young teacher enters a house partitioned into two households. On one side, where she is staying, lives Flora. On the other side live Flora’s sickly sister, Ellie, and her husband Robert. Robert was Flora’s fiancé when he got Ellie pregnant and married her. Their domestic situation is just one of several mysteries. Another is their rigidly austere Cameronian religion, which the young teacher never really understands, calling it " Some freak religion from Scotland ". Another mystery is just what happens when a nurse arrives to look after the dying Ellie and ends up taking over the place.

‘Friend of My Youth’ is a complex tale, but is brought to life with simple and elegant theatricality by ‘Word for Word’, a professional theatre company whose mission is to perform short works of fiction in their entirety, preserving the author’s voice and honoring his/her intent with exciting visuals and inventive staging.