Stage Door News
Stage Door News
April 4, 2016 – OTTAWA (Canada) – National Arts Centre English Theatre Artistic Director Jillian Keiley is passionate about the theatre and storytelling, especially when the stories in question are Canadian. During an entertaining presentation this afternoon in the NAC Studio, Ms Keiley described how this passion helped plant the seeds for the 2016/17 English Theatre season.
To introduce the season line-up to a capacity crowd, Ms Keiley enlisted the help of Rick Mercer, whose enthusiasm for sharing Canadian stories rivals her own. Over the course of their lively exchange, Ms Keiley and Mr Mercer not only traded stories, but also invited members of the audience to the stage to do the same. Ms Keiley then used those true stories as a springboard to present the programming for the upcoming English Theatre season.
“The purpose of storytelling is to help us understand each other and the world,” said Ms Keiley. “Because theatre is a local event – it happens just for you, only in that moment – it deepens the impact of the storytelling. Incorporating stories that happen in our own country further extends their capacity to help us better understand ourselves.”
The eight-play season features co-productions and presentations from companies across Canada, as well as a new take on a holiday classic. A highlight of the announcement was the fact that the 2016/17 season sees three productions which were developed with support from English Theatre’s play development program, The Collaborations, land on our national stage. The Collaborations is a vehicle through which Ms Keiley and Associate Artistic Director Sarah Garton Stanley have worked tirelessly over the past four seasons to offer artistic, financial and dramaturgical support in the development of new Canadian work with artists and companies across the country.
"One of the things Sarah and I started at the beginning of our tenure at the NAC was The Collaborations - the goal was to invest in pieces happening across the country,” explained Ms Keiley. “Four years later, three of these productions have now had really successful runs in the places they were made. We loved these shows too, and we are really proud to show the results of these Collaborations on the NAC stage.”
On top of that, Ms Keiley announced that the English Theatre Ensemble will take to the road to help celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial, as the hit 2013 production of Tartuffe, adapted by comedian Andy Jones, will tour Newfoundland and Labrador in 2017.
These exceptional dramatic, musical and comedic stories shine a light on the amazing work that is being created across the country.
ABOUT THE 2016/17 SEASON
The Theatre Series kicks off the season with Trey Anthony’s hilarious ‘da Kink in My Hair, a co-production with Theatre Calgary directed by Marion J. Caffey. This will be followed by a special holiday production of A Christmas Carol directed by Ms Keiley, featuring an array of artists from across the NAC’s worlds of music, theatre and dance and starring the one-and-only Andy Jones in the role of Scrooge. The next three productions arrive on the national stage by way of partnerships with The Collaborations, beginning with Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland’s take on the crusade of Joey Smallwood to bring Newfoundland into Confederation in The Colony of Unrequited Dreams by Robert Chafe. The series continues with a look at Ontario’s notorious Donnelly family in Jonathan Christenson’s electrifying rock musical Vigilante from Catalyst Theatre in Edmonton, and closes with Corey Payette’s powerful musical Children of God, celebrating the resilience and power of the Indigenous cultural spirit, a production from Vancouver’s Raven Theatre, in association with Urban Ink Productions and the Cultch.
The Studio Series delivers dramatic storytelling beginning with Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre’s Empire of the Son, written and performed by actor, comedian and CBC radio broadcaster Tetsuro Shigematsu. Next up is the NAC debut of Ottawa-born playwright Hannah Moscovitch, the recent winner of the Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prize, with her play Infinity in an elegant production from Toronto’s Volcano Theatre. The Studio Series wraps up with Brad Fraser’s critically-acclaimed Kill Me Now, directed by Ms Stanley and produced in collaboration with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.
YOUR NATIONAL THEATRE ACROSS THE COUNTRY – THE COLLABORATIONS
The NAC is propelled by the idea that all of Canada is our stage. The Collaborations responds by partnering with theatre companies from across Canada, placing English Theatre resources into the hands of creators who are developing and premiering work in their home communities, and refining the work in venues across Canada and abroad.
As noted in the Theatre Series, a number of shows supported through The Collaborations are making their way to the NAC in 2016/17. Equally, there is a growing list of great work in development through The Collaborations happening in Whitehorse, YK, Vancouver, BC, Meachum, SK, Toronto, ON, Picton, ON, Collingwood, ON, Montreal, QC, Halifax, NS, and St. John’s, NL, as well as overseas in Cardiff, Wales, Krakow, Poland and Sydney, Australia. The Collaborations also supports the one-of-a kind, nationally driven digital theatrical space SpiderWebShow.ca, a collaboration between Neworld Theatre (Vancouver), Praxis Theatre (Toronto), Alberta Theatre Projects (Calgary) and NAC English Theatre.
“As we enter our fourth season, we are so excited for Ottawa to see some of the tremendous work we have been collaborating on,” said Ms Stanley. “The work is so exciting, and showcases the staggering imaginations and talents of this country”.
NAC English Theatre is proud to be contributing to the development and growth of new Canadian works and ideas for the stage.
TARTUFFE 2017 TOUR
The NAC English Theatre Ensemble on Tour
Newfoundland and Labrador, 2017
Tartuffe
By Molière
An adaptation by Andy Jones
Directed by Jillian Keiley
As part of Canada’s 2017 sesquicentennial celebrations, the National Arts Centre will take one of English Theatre’s most popular recent productions, Tartuffe adapted by east-coast comedy genius Andy Jones, back from whence it came! Molière’s classic, performed by members of the 2013-14 English Theatre Ensemble, is re-imagined with a healthy sprinkling of Newfoundland charm.
In addition to performances around Newfoundland and Labrador, there will be a robust education program with activities linking youth and artists from coast to coast to coast, with theatricality at its heart.
Detailed information regarding the tour will be announced later in the year.
NAC ENGLISH THEATRE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR JILLIAN KEILEY
Ms Keiley continues to be one of the busiest artists in Canadian theatre, recently directing a fifth production of Alice Through the Looking-Glass, at the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, following productions in Stratford, Charlottetown, Winnipeg and in Ottawa at the NAC. This spring, Ms Keiley returns to Stratford where she is directing a production of Shakespeare’s As You Like It set in her home province of Newfoundland, opening June 3 at Stratford’s Festival Theatre.
Ms Keiley has created a season that once again delivers the best stories from across Canada to the national stage.
2016/17 NAC ENGLISH THEATRE SUBSCRIPTIONS
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THEATRE SERIES
‘da Kink in my Hair
By Trey Anthony
Directed and Choreographed by Marion J. Caffey
An NAC English Theatre/Theatre Calgary Co-Production
October 19 – November 5, 2016
Get back to your roots! “If you want to know a black woman, you touch her hair,” says Novelette of the Caribbean-Canadian clients in her Toronto hair salon. ‘da Kink is raw, energetic theatre, showcasing eight fascinating, multi-faceted women. Uncensored monologues about their sexuality, families and inner lives – powerful and idiosyncratic – are the heart of a theatrical kaleidoscope featuring live rhythm-and-blues and gospel music. A joyous and triumphant Canadian success story, this hugely popular work by writer/performer Trey Anthony kicks off the English Theatre season with style.
“I love ‘da Kink in my Hair … laughter, tears and lots of embarrassed gasps of recognition. Like a black Vagina Monologues, but with more laughs, ‘da Kink is a strong piece of theatre. It's a cracking production.” - The Guardian (London, UK)
A Christmas Carol
By Charles Dickens
Adapted and directed by Jillian Keiley
An NAC English Theatre Production
Featuring Andy Jones as Scrooge
December 13 – 31, 2016
In Victorian London, bitter, selfish Ebenezer Scrooge spends Christmas Eve counting his money. But unexpected visits by the ghost of his former partner Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come change his life forever. This heart-warming classic tale of redemption and the true meaning of the season is a unique, stylish new production designed by the acclaimed Bretta Gerecke and showcasing dazzling guest artists from the NAC’s worlds of theatre, music and dance. Join the Cratchit family in a perfect holiday treat for the entire family!
“A Christmas Carol has been described as the most perfect of Dickens's works and … it is certainly the most popular. It's a ghost story with a moral, a message of hope, good cheer, and an assertion of the value of the Christmas festival.”
The Guardian (London, UK)
The Colony of Unrequited Dreams
Based on the Bestselling Novel by Wayne Johnston
Adapted for the stage by Robert Chafe
Directed by Jillian Keiley
An Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland Production in collaboration with NAC English Theatre
January 25 – February 11, 2017
A sweeping drama of personal and political ambition follows soon-to-be Premier Joey Smallwood – the self-described “Last Father of Confederation” – as he propels the Dominion of Newfoundland into union with Canada in 1949. Both saint and sinner, the charismatic, controversial Smallwood is hounded every step of the way by witty, booze-soaked reporter Sheilagh Fielding – his intellectual equal and lifelong nemesis. With a crackling narrative, sultry jazz score and a cast of forty characters, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is an epic and expansive retelling of a defining Canadian story.
“Artistic Fraud is one of the most innovative and exciting theatre companies in Canada. The set design and staging were kinetic, memorable, elemental. Desks, chairs, walls, and actors slid and curved into place like perfectly thrown curling stones – like the stage floor was made of smooth ice. I found myself wishing that Colony of Unrequited Dreams could be made into a mini-series.” - nfldtxt.com
Vigilante
Written, composed and directed by Jonathan Christenson
Produced by Catalyst Theatre (Edmonton) in collaboration with NAC English Theatre
March 29 – April 15, 2017
A raucous, wall-of-sound rock opera, Vigilante tells the explosive true tale of a ruthless Irish immigrant family and an entire town bent on revenge. Based on the unsolved 1880 massacre of Ontario’s notorious Donnelly family, Vigilante is a stomping, swaggering and compulsively watchable story about frontier justice. This outlaw offspring of Sweeney Todd and The Threepenny Opera walks the razor’s edge – aggressively inventive, visually stunning and absolutely electrifying. Vigilante marks the return of Edmonton’s astonishing Catalyst Theatre (Nevermore) to the NAC, following major tours to London and New York.
“History — Canadian history! — doesn’t just rock, it comes at you with an aggressive and explosive energy in the thrilling new rock ‘musical’ from Catalyst Theatre currently torching the Citadel’s stage.” - The Edmonton Journal
Children of God
A Musical by Corey Payette
A Cultch (Vancouver) Production in collaboration with NAC English Theatre in association with Raven Theatre (Vancouver)/Urban Ink Productions (Vancouver)
June 7 – 18, 2017
Children of God is a gorgeous, powerful musical about an Oji-Cree family whose children were taken away to a residential school in Northern Ontario. The story of Rita, a mother who was never let past the school’s gate, and her kids, Tom and Julia, who never knew she came, pushes toward a redemptive climax. Children of God offers a thrilling blend of ancient traditions and contemporary realities, celebrating resilience and the power of the Indigenous cultural spirit. Inspired by First Nations music, Payette’s profoundly moving score also includes echoes of provocative Broadway masterpieces such as Fun Home and Next to Normal.
“Every once in a while someone as special as Corey Payette comes along with a project as special as this. Children of God was developed as part of The Collaborations because it was so extraordinary, passionate and beautiful.” – Sarah Garton Stanley, Associate Artistic Director, NAC English Theatre
STUDIO SERIES
Empire of the Son
Written and performed by Tetsuro Shigematsu
Directed by Richard Wolfe
Produced by Donna Yamamoto
A Vancouver Asian Canadian Theatre Production
November 22 – December 3, 2016
Empire of the Son is raw, profound and personal, yet sublimely elegant. In this exhilaratingly original, multimedia one-man show, actor / comedian / radio broadcaster Tetsuro Shigematsu tells the dynamic story of his emotionally distant father Akira, whose legacy is felt beyond his lifetime. From the ashes of Hiroshima to swinging 1960s London, Akira’s incredible personal history continues to influence two generations. Separated by language, culture and history, what truly keeps father and son apart are their similarities. Empire of the Son is a funny, emotional and deeply thoughtful portrayal of parent / child relationships.
“Empire of the Son is exquisite. It’s also painstakingly honest …the storytelling is poetic, associative—and often funny. I can’t say enough good things about Empire of the Son … one of the best shows of the year.” – Georgia Straight
Infinity
By Hannah Moscovitch
With original music by Njo Kong Kie
Directed by Ross Manson
Choreographed by Kate Alton
A Volcano Theatre (Toronto) Production
February 28 – March 11, 2017
As the cynical, skeptical daughter of a theoretical physicist and a composer, Sarah Jean’s clinical approach to love meets with little success. In this absorbing drama infused with science and classical music, three exceptional minds collide like charged particles in an accelerator. Sarah Jean’s hugely talented yet severely dysfunctional family will learn that love and time itself are connected in unimaginable ways. Infinity is the highly-anticipated NAC debut of Ottawa-raised Hannah Moscovitch, one of Canada’s most exciting playwrights.
“Moscovitch pulls from her personal experience in developing these characters and the result is visceral… extremely affecting. Moscovitch is often called a “hot” Canadian playwright… the descriptor is rock solid.” - The Toronto Star
Kill Me Now
By Brad Fraser
Directed by Sarah Garton Stanley
Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg) Production in collaboration with NAC English Theatre
April 25 – May 6, 2017
Incendiary playwright Brad Fraser (Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love) makes his long-awaited return to the NAC with Kill Me Now, a gritty black comedy leavened with profound humanity. Widower Jake Sturdy cares for his severely disabled teenage son Joey, until unexpected news leads to an astonishing role reversal. Devastatingly funny and defiantly unsentimental, Kill Me Now finds hard truths and irreverent laughter in every limb, joint and thought in the hopelessly fragile human body.
★★★★★ “Funny and brutal and honest. But it is also moving, deeply emotional, and ultimately harrowing.”
- Stage Review (London, UK)
Photo: Andy Jones and Christine Brubaker. ©2013 Micaela Morey.
2016-04-04
Ottawa: NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Jillian Keiley announces 2016/17 Season