People may be used to hearing creaks in their homes, but most individuals aren’t accustomed to having their apartment walls talk to them; and this is certainly not what Voice (Ashley Medeiros) is expecting when she moves into a new place with her boyfriend Gabe (Mario Sasso). Voice starts receiving notes from the wall (Ricci Mann) each day, and what’s even more peculiar is she’s the only one in their apartment that can hear the wall speak. 

This tale is revealed in the Arctic Playhouse’s recently debuted play “The Hatmaker’s Wife.” Written by Lauren Lee and directed by Rachel Hanauer, “The Hatmaker’s Wife” tells the story of a young woman who moves in with her boyfriend and things are not as blissful as she expected. Her strange new home wants to lend its help, and the walls start talking to Voice. The walls share the tale of the previous tenants – an old hatmaker (Terry Simpson) and his long-suffering wife (Mary Paolino) who ran away with her husband’s favorite hat.

The hatmaker and his wife seem to have fallen out of love and after 60 years of marriage have grown tired of one another. In the performance, Simpson and Paolino’s eastern European accents come across effortlessly as do the dynamics of their strained relationship.

Additionally, Sasso’s character adds comedic relief to the play while Medeiros draws the audience in and helps them experience Voice’s confusion about her relationship with Gabe while she continues engrossing herself with the old hatmaker’s story.

In the first act, there are a lot of unanswered questions such as why the wall is sharing this story and why the hatmaker’s wife took her husband’s hat. All is answered by the end of act two.

This plot does require suspending your disbelief. Overall, it is a story that bends time and space to redefine the idea of family, home and true love.

Prior to the start of the play, Director Rachel Hanauer provided context for the play, mentioning that the hatmaker and his wife were two of many Jewish individuals who left Czechoslovakia due to persecution after the Soviet invasion. There are references to Jewish culture in the play – including Golem (D. Collins) – a creature formed out of a lifeless substance such as dust or earth – who pays a visit to the old hatmaker.

“The Hatmaker’s Wife” will run from April 21 to May 8 at the Arctic Playhouse and is located at 1249 Main Street, West Warwick. Tickets purchased in advance are $18 and tickets purchased the day of the show cost $20. It should be noted that profanity is used and may not be suitable for younger audience members. For more information about “The Hatmaker’s Wife,” call 401-573-3443 or visit arcticplayhouse.com.