It’s not too early to plan your fall theatre outings.
Surrey-based Royal Canadian Theatre Company recently announced its new season, giving theatre lovers in New West not one but three reasons to look forward to the end of sweltering days.
A lineup of three plays, starting in November this year, promises a mashup of drama, romance and comedy.
The first to hit the stage will be The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery, a play by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jr. about a community theatre’s attempt to stage a whodunit. With four actors scrambling to play 14 different characters on opening night, the script is crafted to leave the audience in splits.
“It will be such a fun and ridiculous show where the set and props fall apart, the characters get into the wrong costumes and play the wrong characters,” said Crystal Weltzin, actor and RCTC’s general manager.
In December, RCTC plans to juice up the holiday season with its production of Cinderella. Written by Crystal Weltzin, with an original score by Argel Monte de Ramos, the fairytale pantomime will feature sing-alongs, toe-tapping music, sparkling sets and colourful costumes — all while bringing the familiar story of Cinderella, her mouse friends and “devilish” family to life on the Massey Theatre stage.
The third play, Cheaters, by Michael Jacobs, starts off with a couple meeting with their parents for an earnest advice on whether they should get married or not. The meeting takes a sharp turn when the two married couples who are asked for the advice discover that the parent of their child’s spouse is actually their lover.
The "oddball story of love" will mark the end of RCTC's theatre season in the beginning of spring next year.
Behind the curtain
All the three plays were handpicked by RCTC's current artistic director Kerri Norris, who wanted to present productions that are both relatable to the audience who come back year after year and offer something new for younger audience members.
Norris chose The Farndale Avenue Housing Society Townswomen's Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery as it's similar to the popular award-winning comedy The Play that Goes Wrong, and Cheaters because it will give audience a taste of a farce — "like Bedfull of Foreigners" — that the company traditionally performs in the spring.
Cinderella celebrates Norris's first pantomime with the theatre company back in 2014, said Weltzin. The same fairytale will be brought back to stage this year, but with twists and turns.
As much as curating a new season was fun for the 2006-founded company, they had to wade through some financial hiccups brought by COVID.
“We were working with a deficit and debts in our first year that (luckily) we were able to clear, and now are trying to plan for a rainy day and how to keep the company financially stable from year to year as a smaller theatre company,” said Weltzin.
“We are trying some new things this year to expand our production team as well as treat our cast among all three shows as equitably as possible.”
Despite the challenges, the company is gearing up for a whole new season.
For it knows that in the world of theatre, come what may, the show must go on.
RCTC's Live Theatre Season Schedule:
The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society Murder Mystery
- When and Where: Nov. 3 to 5, at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.; Anvil Centre Theatre, 777 Columbia St
- Cost: $29.99 and $34 (box office charges apply)
Cinderella
- When and Where: Dec. 29 to 31, at 6:30 p.m., 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. (The 6:30 p.m. show on Dec. 29 is a relaxed performance — specially designed to accommodate the needs of audience members with autism spectrum disorder, sensory, communication, or other intellectual challenges.); Massey Theatre, 735 8th Ave.
- Cost: $15 to $34 (box office charges apply)
Cheaters
- When and Where: March 21 to 24 at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. (Relaxed performance on March 21 at 7:30 p.m.); Anvil Centre, 777 Columbia St.
- Cost: $15 and $34 (box office charges apply)
Buy tickets online. When you buy season tickets for all three shows, you save 20 per cent.
