Stage Door News
Stage Door News
[Mississauga ON, January 2013] After literally thousands of hit productions world-wide, a series of ten zany comedies about a benighted English amateur dramatic society has set an amazing record. Having considered the first of the series year after year, Theatre Erindale has finally bitten the bullet. The next production of the “Mayhem!” season will be the wackiest send-up the company has ever produced. Billed as “a British farce twice as zany as the title and only half as long”, The Farndale Avenue Housing Estate Townswomen’s Guild Dramatic Society’s Production of Macbeth runs January 24 to February 3. And for the first time ever, we’re mounting this mainstage production in the MiST Theatre of the CCT Building on the University of Toronto Mississauga campus, with parking right downstairs.
Ever had one of those days when absolutely nothing goes right? That’s what happens when the ladies of the Farndale Avenue Dramatic Society take their production of ‘the Scottish play’ – proverbially cursed in the theatre – to the Area Finals of the Townswomen’s Guild Drama Festival. The spotlights are always in the wrong spot, the properties fall from the fly gallery, and the leading lady gets lost on the way to the theatre! But nothing deters the actors from struggling gamely onward to be adjudicated by the real pro – when he takes a break from putting on his mascara!
The play originated at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in the 1970s and was revived there in the 80s. “Outstandingly awful … hilarious … Move Birnam Wood to Dunsinane but catch this!” wrote the Edinburgh Evening News. Of its two authors, David McGillivray had written blue movies and low-budget horror flicks when not directing amateur theatre; Walter Zerlin Jnr was a comedian-singer-dancer-magician who also happened to be a practicing barrister. It became a 25-year partnership that spawned 2500 productions even before Zerlin died in 2001, and it hasn’t stopped.
Artistic Director Patrick Young directs, with a large support team of Sheridan and UTM faculty and staff and a busy cast of nine actors from the graduating year of the joint Theatre and Drama Studies Program.
Why the MiST Theatre? One reason is the unusual technical requirements of the play. It is designed for a one-end staging with a front curtain and 29 fly cues (the theatre term for raising and lowering objects from above) – never before attempted by Theatre Erindale, and more easily provided at the MiST. But the other reason was audience convenience. Directly below the MiST inside the CCT Building is a parking garage. That means that audiences, in the dead of winter, can park and enjoy the show in the same building instead of taking a walk in the cold!
Evening and weekend parking at UTM is $6.50. However, at only $10-$15, single tickets for Theatre Erindale are still the best entertainment bargain in Mississauga! The Farndale Avenue … Macbeth runs January 24-February 3, with evening performances Thursday through Saturday, and matinées each Saturday and on Sunday February 3. For tickets and further information, call the Box Office at 905-569-4369 or www.theatreerindale.com .
THE FARNDALE AVENUE HOUSING ESTATE TOWNSWOMEN’S GUILD
DRAMATIC SOCIETY’S PRODUCTION OF
MACBETH
by David McGillivray and Walter Zerlin Jnr
Directed by Patrick Young
A British farce twice as zany as the title and only half as long!
Preview Jan 24; Opening Jan 25; runs Jan 26 and 31 - Feb 3, 2013
Thurs 7:30; Fri 8:00; Sat 2:00 & 8:00; Sun Feb 3 2:00
$10.00-$15.00
MiST Theatre, CCT Building, UTM Campus
(Mississauga Road north of Dundas)
www.theatreerindale.com or 905-569-4369
2013-01-05
Mississauga: Theatre Erindale presents its wackiest farce ever!