Stage Door News

Barrie: Talk Is Free Theatre announces its winter programming

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Today, TIFT Artistic Director Michael Torontow and CEO Arkady Spivak announced details of the company’s upcoming Winter Season of eclectic in-person, online and hybrid theatrical experiences. The winter programming invites audiences to engage with fresh perspectives on a variety of divisive subjects faced today.

Running from January to April 2022, winter programming includes the Canadian arrival of TIFT’s internationally acclaimed production of a Broadway classic, in-person and hybrid adventures of self-discovery, an electrifying critique of generational differences and more.

"Don't bother planning that winter vacation—this season, we're taking you so many places you've never been, you'll wish you didn't waste your money renewing your passport." - Michael Torontow, Artistic Director.

The company continues to offer free admission to its programming in Barrie.


January 20 - 29, 2022

Five Points Theatre, Barrie

SIN AND SORROW ARE COMMON TO ALL

Written by Alexander Ostrovsky

Directed by Layne Coleman

Set and Lighting Design by Joe Pagnan

Costumes Design by Kathleen Black

Intimacy Direction by Alix Sideris

Featuring

Noah Beemer, Tess Benger, Richard Lam, Cyrus Lane, Gabe Maharjan

and others

Social classes clash and conflict leads to inevitable tragedy between workers and nobility in this social drama by one of Russia’s most celebrated playwrights.


February 20 - 27, 2022

Five Points Theatre, Barrie

ORLANDO

Adapted by Sarah Ruhl

Based on the novel by Virginia Woolf

Created and performed by Merlin Simard and Raven John

Orlando is the journey of a time-travelling trans girl stuck in an Elizabethan tech multi-verse spanning countless countries and visits with royalty, poets and persistent suitors.

Orlando is a Virtual Reality (VR) and physical reality performance hybrid and was developed as part of The Eternal Ego Festival.


March 10 - 13, 2022

Live-streamed

SIX CHARACTERS IN SEARCH OF AN AUTHOR

Written by Luigi Pirandello

Conceived and performed by Richard Lam

Directed by John Lachlan Stewart

A play rehearsal is interrupted when six mysterious characters from a yet-unwritten play arrive and beg to be given life through the acting company in Lam & Lachlan Stewart’s fresh take on a modernist classic.

Six Characters in Search of an Author was developed as part of The Eternal Ego Festival.


March 10 - 19, 2022

Five Points Theatre, Barrie

UNTITLED FLAMINGO PLAY

Written by and starring Nathaniel Hanula-James

A queer child searches for their identity in a world populated by an eclectic cast of characters, including a moustache-twirling flamingo, divas and bullies in this irreverent solo-performed production about self-discovery.


March 14 - April 10, 2022

An Undisclosed Location, Toronto

SWEENEY TODD:

THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

Book by Hugh Wheeler

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

Directed by Mitchell Cushman

Musical Direction by Daniel Rutzen

Starring Michael Torontow as Sweeney Todd and Glynis Ranney as Mrs. Lovett

with Noah Beemer, Tess Benger, Gabi Epstein, Griffin Hewitt, Derek Kwan, Cyrus Lane and Jeff Lillico

TIFT’s internationally acclaimed immersive production, which was the culmination of the 3-day The Curious Voyage experience in 2018, of the late Stephen Sondheim’s Broadway classic comes to Canada to tell the tale of the wrongfully condemned Sweeney Todd, who slashes his way to retribution.


March 21 - April 2, 2022

Public Library in the Barrie area, to be confirmed

THE ARCHIVE OF MISSING THINGS

Created by Zuppa Theatre Company with Kate Cayley

Sound Design by Brian Riley

Web Design and Development by Ned Zimmerman

Equipped with a tablet and headset, the audience embarks on an adventure to uncover clues and discover the secret within the Archive.


March 24 - April 1, 2022

Five Points Theatre, Barrie

THE NICETIES

Written by Eleanor Burgess

Directed by Alana Hibbert

“The Niceties is a shrewd piece of writing, allowing audiences to alternate between both sides in a fast-evolving debate.” - Variety.com

A professor’s office becomes a battleground as a meeting with a student explodes into an incendiary debate about race, privilege and the generational divide.


Ticket Information:

TIFT continues to offer Free Admission to all main programming in Barrie. To read the complete details of the policy, please click HERE. Tickets for individual productions will be available for booking one month prior to the opening night. All Producer’s Circle members and donors of $100 or more enjoy an exclusive one week booking period before tickets are available to the general public.

Certain restrictions on ticket amounts apply to all bookings. Please visit TIFT’s donor page HERE for more details.

COVID-19 Admission Protocols:

In accordance with the mandate from the Government of Ontario effective September 22, 2021, Talk Is Free Theatre patrons will require proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 and government issued identification before entry to any indoor theatre venue, including the Five Points Theatre.

Social distancing measures and masking will still be in effect until further notice. For more information about protocols and safety measures, please visit HERE.