John Kirkpatrick and Karen Johnson-Diamond in The Leisure Society by Francois Archambault, translated by Bobby Theodore. The production is part of the Enbridge playRites Festival of New Canadian Plays at Alberta Theatre Projects in Calgary, Jan 28 - March 6.
playRites Festival, Alberta Theatre Projects
Calgary, Feb. 3 to March 7
Alberta Theatre Projects's playRites Festival is a great stop for new Canadian scripts. This year's edition includes the English-language premiere of Larry Tremblay's Abraham Lincoln Goes to the Theatre . A meta-theatrical mindbender, the three-actor play is populated by Laurel and Hardy and a (living) wax statue of a certain assassinated U.S. president. What unspools is an absurd and astounding meditation on "the shifting nature of our identities in a world that thrives on imitation." Director Bob White is the sturdy hand at the helm. Other playRites premieres: Tyland by Greg MacArthur; How Do I Love Thee? by Florence Gibson; The Highest Step in the World by David van Belle and Eric Rose.
Belles-soeurs: The Musical
Théâtre d'Aujourd'hui, Montreal, March 29 to May 1
Centre Culturel de Joliette, June 25 to Sept. 4
With Michel Tremblay's 1968 play Les Belles-soeurs , working-class Québécois women and the slang known as joual burst onto the stage. The show is now an international classic. How it took this long to become a big-budget musical is a mystery. The iconic tale of Germaine and her million GoldStar stamps gets a new script and lyrics by director René Richard Cyr plus music from Juno-winning Daniel Bélanger. Loto-Québec has invested $600,000 for it to tour for three years. Perhaps that has something to do with the show's famous Ode to Bingo ?
The Tempest
Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Stratford, Ont.
June 11 to Sept. 12
Because The Tempest was (it is said) Shakespeare's final play, great actors tend to take the role of Prospero as their farewell to the stage. Does this mean that Christopher Plummer - playing the role this summer at Stratford - is about to end his revels? Even the possibility makes this the theatrical event of the year. Among the supporting cast, we're particularly excited about the double act of drunks, Trinculo and Stephano, being portrayed by Bruce Dow and Geraint Wyn Davies. Stratford artistic director Des McAnuff is at the helm - though, given Plummer's reputation, we know who will really wear the pants.