Stage Door News
Stage Door News
Toronto, January 16th, 2014 – The Company Theatre, in association with Canadian Stage, are thrilled to announce today that The Company Theatre co-founder and ”Republic of Doyle” star Allan Hawco, will be returning to his stage roots after a five-year absence, to star in Amy Herzog’s critically-acclaimed play Belleville. Hawco will play the lead role of Zack, a doctor who has just moved to Paris with his wife Abby to do AIDS research.
Additionally, Marsha Regis (The Company You Keep, The Watchmen) has been cast in the role of Amina and Dalmar Abuzeid (“Degrassi: The Next Generation”) will play Alioune – this will be Abuzeid’s stage debut.
This news follows a previous announcement that Dora Award-winning actress Christine Horne will play the role of Abby and that regular Company collaborator Jason Byrne returns to Toronto to direct.
“This is a real homecoming for me and long overdue,” says Hawco. “I had to take some time away from The Company to focus on “Republic of Doyle”, but I always had my eye on an opportunity to come back to the theatre, which is where it all started for me. And now finally my schedule has allowed me that perfect window before the show starts up again. I am hugely grateful to Philip Riccio for his work steering The Company while Doyle has dominated my life and for picking this incredible play for me to come home to. I am immensely excited to get to work on this.”
The Company co-Artistic director and producer Philip Riccio comments, “I’m thrilled that we finally found the right time and opportunity to bring Allan back to the Toronto stage and to The Company. Allan and I started The Company for many reasons, one of which was a shared desire to do a certain kind of intensive work as actors, but it was also because we loved collaborating with each other. This production of Belleville really brings us back to the beginning – having both Allan and Jason Byrne, who directed our inaugural production, on board.”
Allan Hawco is a Newfoundland born actor and a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal, most recognized for his lead role as 'Jake Doyle' on the CBC hit TV series, “Republic of Doyle”. Allan also serves as the Co-Creator, Showrunner, Executive Producer, and Head Writer for the Gemini-nominated series, currently in its fifth season. He co-founded The Company Theatre with Philip Riccio in 2005 and continues to serve as Co-Artistic Director.
Allan's major accolades include such awards as the Gascon Thomas Award from the National Theatre School, an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Television Hall of Fame, a Gemini Nomination for Best Actor in a Dramatic Series (“Republic of Doyle”), and an ACTRA Nomination for Best Male Actor (Love & Savagery).
Written by rising-star playwright Amy Herzog, Belleville is a suspenseful, Hitchcockian play that shines a light on the darker side of our personal relationships. The story follows Americans Zack and Abby, young ex-pats who appear to have it all: an apartment in a promising neighborhood in Paris, an affectionate marriage, and Zack's admirable mission to eradicate pediatric AIDS through his work with Doctors Without Borders. But when Abby finds Zack at home one day when he's supposed to be at work, the revelations that follow rock their seemingly idyllic life.
Belleville will run in Toronto from April 6 to May 4 , 2014 (Opening night: April 10) at the Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street). Tickets may be purchased by phone at 416.368.3110, in person at the Canadian Stage box office (26 Berkeley St.) or online at www.companytheatre.ca <http://www.companytheatre.ca> or www.canadianstage.com <http://www.canadianstage.com> .
About Belleville
Cast
Allan Hawco - Zack
Christine Horne – Abby
Dalmar Abuzeid – Alioune
Marsha Regis – Amina
Creative Team
Directed by Jason Byrne
Written by Amy Herzog
Costume and set design by Yannik Larivee
Lighting by Kevin Lamotte
Sound by Richard Feren
About Amy Herzog:
One of the fastest rising stars in the American theatre, Amy Herzog’s streak of success since emerging on the theatre scene from the Yale School of Drama is unparalleled. In 2008, Herzog received the Helen Merril Award for Aspiring Playwrights. She premiered her first play in New York, After The Revolution in 2010, and last year premiered 4000 Miles at the Lincoln Centre Theatre, subsequently winning the 2012 New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award. Richard Zoglin of Time Magazine called 4000 Miles, “the best play of the season – hands down.”
Belleville was first commissioned and produced by Yale Repertory Theater, under artistic director James Bundy and managing director Victoria Nolan, in New Haven, Connecticut. Opening October 21, 2011, the inaugural production was directed by Anne Kauffman. The play had its New York premiere off-Broadway last year with The New York Theatre Workshop where it played to rave reviews. The famed Steppenwolf Theatre Company of Chicago also produced the play in the summer of 2013 to equally glowing critical reception.
"Ms. Herzog’s thrillingly good play confirms her reputation as one of the brightest new talents in the theater. It is rare for a young playwright to be in such confident command of all the theater’s resources as Ms. Herzog is here…among the most suspenseful plays I’ve seen in years.” - The New York Times
Photo: Allan Hawco.
2014-01-16
Toronto: Allan Hawco returns to the stage in Canadian Stage's "Belleville" starting April 6