Latest Drama News

Playgoers of Lethbridge has the “Key” to a good farce

Tuesday, 27 October 2009 11:25 Richard Amery

British farce is the “key” to a successful dinner theatre according to the Playgoers of Lethbridge. The long standing Lethbridge theatre company is on stage at the Lethbridge Legion, Oct. 28-31 with John Chapman and Dave Freeman’s “Key For Two” featuring local actors Don Berner, Vanessa Boila, Jeff Guzzi, Elaine Jagielski, Donna Kalau, Marcie Stork and Richard Amery.
Donna Kalau and Vanessa Boila rehearse. Photo By Richard Amery

Donna Kalau and Vanessa Boila rehearse. Photo By Richard Amery

“It’s a nice British farce which Playgoers is noted for,” enthused director Ed Bayly. “Key For Two” is the story of Harriet, a divorcee living in a Brighton flat who makes ends meet by entertaining two married gentleman callers on different days of the week. Confusion arises when her friend Anne, whose marriage is collapsing arrives, closely followed her drunk husband. One of Harriet’s lovers sprains his ankle and is confined to bed. Confusion arrises when the two wives arrive in search of their wayward husbands. It explodes into a crescendo of mistaken identities, splendidly farcial situations and a humourous climax of needle sharp precision.
It’s got some very good individual parts for the actors and it’s lots of fun. It will be a good crowd pleaser,” Bayly continued.
“We thought it was an appropriate play for a dinner theatre,” he added, noting Playgoers haven’t performed this particular production before though they have performed “Bedfull of Foreigners” and “Move Over Mrs. Markham” by the same playwrights.
“Both of them were very successful and well received by the audiences,” Bayly said, adding the Playgoers of Lethbridge have done dinner theatres at most of the major motels in the city.
They also perform a massive main stage production in February at the Yates Theatre. This year it will be Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap” which runs Feb. 3-6. Next year Playgoers will be performing “ The Importance of Being Earnest.

Masques and Mayhem can be poetry in motion

Tuesday, 20 October 2009 15:13 Richard Amery

The Most Vocal Poets Society of Lethbridge are getting into the Halloween spirit a little early tonight, Oct. 21, in the GCBC Lounge with Masques and Mayhem. Blaine Greenwood shows off a few of his masks. Photo By Richard Amery

Blaine Greenwood shows off a few of his masks. Photo By Richard Amery

“Part of the reason for the masks is some of us have written poems we might be embarrassed to perform,” explained organizer Blaine Greenwood, adding because the Most Vocal Poets are pretty close knit , everybody knows the readers anyway. Besides masks are fun, especially when there will be about 40 of them from all over the world from Italy to Africa to try out.
“This is the poetry of the people in real life who might not ordinarily perform it at an ordinary open mic,” Greenwood continued.
“Some poems read easily while other poems deal with the darker side of life,” he continued adding there is one about artist Vincent Van Gogh’s battle with schizophrenia. But it’s not all serious.
“There will be a carnival mood. It’s a case of trying something not in the box,” he said emphasizing everybody is welcome to read their poems, as per the philosophy of the Most Vocal Poets, “ off the page, on the stage.”

Get some Hay Fever at the university this week

Tuesday, 20 October 2009 13:27 Richard Amery

The University of Lethbridge has a bit of Hay Fever this week. Courtney Montgomery touches up Jocelyn Haub’s make-up. Photo By Richard Amery

Several students are performing in the 1928 Noel Coward comedy in the University Theatre (W500) , Oct. 20-24.
“It’s a pretty standard story. There is a family who have a house in the country and each family member invites guests to come to visit unbeknownst to the others,” explained director Gail Hanrahan.
“The family are all eccentric. The mother is a well known actress and the father is a well known writer and the son is an artist, so they are all very artistic. So the humour is very situational,” she continued adding the characters have fun creating unusual situations for their guests.
“It takes place in a time before television so people had to entertain themselves, so they have fun creating situations for their guests to find themselves stunned by and hilarity ensues,” she said.
“ The nine characters are all really different so there is something in it for everyone,” said Hanrahan, who is also directing a production of Hair in the spring. The University of Lethbridge drama professors rotate through directing the productions, so she directs about one a year. She was a professional director for 20 years before coming to Lethbridge four years ago.

Pissy’s Wife is “astonishing”

Tuesday, 06 October 2009 13:16 Richard Amery

Erica Hunt is “astonishing” in New West Theatre’ s latest production, Marg Szkaluba (Pissy’s Wife). Hunt plays “hard woman” Marg Szkaluba , a mid-’50s rural wife who gets pregnant in Grade 10 and marries God-fearing “Pissy” thus entering a world of endless boredom, a vicious cycle of child rearing, making meals, keeping house, watching TV and beatings as Pissy proves you can be God-fearing” and still not be Godly. Kathy Zaborsky and Erica Hunt. Photo by Richard Amery

Kathy Zaborsky and Erica Hunt. Photo by Richard Amery

She approaches her challenges with aplomb and dignity and a lot of dark wit.
Marg tries to escape her boredom and “be astonished” through reading women’s magazines and making new recipes until she falls in with a group of women her own age who sing in the woods thanks to a “saint” from the bakery named Jessie.
What makes Erica Hunt astonishing is not only that she had to learn to play guitar in two weeks (much of Marg’s story is told through her songs), but had to learn all of the lines in the play. She completely envelopes and embodies the character of Marg so you feel her pain, every “cuff”, every emotion, every regret, every lost opportunity, every experience and every emotion she’s feeling.
The smoke filled stage is designed like a country bar replete with wooden tables and green table cloths. There is even a bar for those who want to have a drink with Marg during the show.

More Articles...