The Drawer Boy (2017) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Morgan created the story of the two tall women as a way to comfort Angus and maintain a positive shared history. Since Angus suffers from memory loss due to brain damage from World War II, Morgan uses this fictional narrative to give Angus something meaningful to hold onto. The story functions as a protective fiction that preserves their sense of belonging and purpose, even though neither man fully believes it anymore.

Foreshadowing: Earlier in their lives, Morgan and Angus had very little, so Morgan crafted this tale to give them both hope and a sense of having a shared past worth remembering.

• morgan
• angus
• two tall women
• fiction
• memory loss
• storytelling

Angus sustained his brain damage from the London bombing during World War II. The injury left him with fragile memory and cognitive difficulties, which is why he relies on Morgan for daily care and why the two men have built their lives around a careful routine.

Foreshadowing: The play hints at Angus's lost potential when it mentions he once designed buildings, suggesting his injury erased a promising future as an architect.

• angus
• brain damage
• world war ii
• london bombing
• memory loss

"Drawer boy" refers to Angus's past talent as an architect or building designer. The nickname comes from his ability to draw, which represents a lost future that was shattered by his war injury. The title of the play suggests both Miles's role in "drawing" their story for the stage and Angus's original identity as someone who once created blueprints.

Foreshadowing: The nickname hints at a time before the war when Angus had ambitions and skills that pointed toward a different life.

• drawer boy
• angus
• architect
• nickname
• building designer

The actual history behind Morgan and Angus contains more pain and loss than the hopeful tale about the two women. While the fictional story provides comfort and meaning, the true events of their lives involve greater hardship and loneliness. Exposing the fiction risks dismantling the fragile peace they've built together.

Foreshadowing: The play's tension comes from knowing that the comforting story masks a more difficult reality that could destabilize their relationship.

• truth
• fiction
• sadness
• real history
• story versus truth

When Miles guides Morgan and Angus through telling their life story as a play, the shared act of dramatic retelling inadvertently awakens dormant memories in Angus. The combination of emotional engagement and narrative structure acts as a catalyst, unlocking suppressed histories. Art becomes a vehicle for memory to resurface where straight questioning had failed.

Foreshadowing: Miles's promise to "get your history and give it back to you" foreshadows how the theatrical process will literally restore something thought lost.

• storytelling
• memory
• Angus
• play
• art
• recovery

Morgan and Angus are elderly bachelor farmers who have lived together for decades. Morgan serves as Angus's primary caregiver due to Angus's brain damage from WWII, providing daily support while maintaining their farm. Their bond is one of deep, unspoken loyalty, they depend on each other functionally and emotionally, though neither expresses this directly.

Foreshadowing: Morgan's blunt, protective nature toward Angus reveals a man who has dedicated his life to caring for his friend despite the difficulty.

• morgan
• angus
• relationship
• farmers
• caregiving
• partnership

Miles is a young Toronto theatre actor researching rural life for a new play. He initially approaches Morgan and Angus as source material for his artistic project, intending to collect their stories and transform them into theatre. However, his role evolves as he becomes emotionally invested in their lives.

Foreshadowing: Miles arrives with the explicit goal of using their experiences for his art, setting up the central tension between observation and intervention.

• miles
• actor
• play
• theatre
• research
• toronto

Miles realizes that while the story about the two women is not factually true, it carries greater emotional truth and meaning than the actual sad history. He chooses to include the fiction because it has become more valuable to Angus's sense of identity and wellbeing than strict factual accuracy. The play becomes a space where emotional truth matters more than historical record.

Foreshadowing: Miles's discovery that the fiction is "sadder than the fiction" reveals that the constructed story serves a deeper purpose than simple deception.

• miles
• fiction
• play
• emotional truth
• inclusion
• artistic choice

The process of exposing and performing their story strains the equilibrium Morgan and Angus have maintained for years. While the storytelling ultimately brings Angus's memory back, it also forces Morgan to confront whether his protective fiction has been helping or hindering his friend. Their friendship survives but is redefined by the new understanding between them.

Foreshadowing: Morgan's protective instinct throughout the story suggests he will struggle with the tension between keeping Angus comfortable and allowing painful truth.

• morgan
• angus
• friendship
• strain
• truth
• redefinition

As Miles documents and stages their lives, the farm's routine starts to take on performance-like qualities. The farmers begin telling their story as drama, and Miles himself becomes part of the narrative he is creating. The line between observing life and reshaping it becomes indistinguishable, with the play eventually changing the relationships it depicts.

Foreshadowing: Miles's arrival initially seems like simple research, but his presence gradually transforms the farm into a workshop where life and theatre merge.

• art
• reality
• performance
• theatre
• blurring
• transformation

Morgan is protecting Angus from the painful truth of their shared history, which contains more loss and hardship than the uplifting tale about the two women. He fears that confronting the real sadness of their past could destabilize Angus's fragile mental state and damage the bond they have built. His fiction is an act of love disguised as deception.

Foreshadowing: Morgan's careful management of Angus's environment throughout the play shows his ongoing commitment to shielding his friend from emotional harm.

• morgan
• protection
• angus
• fiction
• truth
• pain

Angus requires constant care because his brain damage from the London bombing during WWII has left him with significant memory impairment and cognitive difficulties. He cannot reliably care for himself, so Morgan handles daily tasks, manages the farm, and ensures Angus takes his medications and maintains routines. This caretaking defines their relationship and their daily life together.

Foreshadowing: The opening scenes establish Morgan as the steady, practical anchor while Angus drifts in his own world, dependent on his friend's vigilance.

• angus
• care
• morgan
• brain damage
• farming
• daily life