Laughter, mystery, passion, crime, tense drama, and crazy shenanigans. That’s what daring audiences can expect May 21 – 28. Seven plays from across the southern interior take the stage in the Okanagan Zone (O-Zone) Drama Festival at the Venables Theatre, Oliver. It’s a rare opportunity to “flip through the channels” on live theatre instead of a television. Theatre-goers can choose one play in their favourite genre, save on a “skinny package” of three plays, or go for the deep discounts and splurge on all seven for a full festival experience.
Opening the festival on Saturday May 21 will be Crimson Tine Players of Princeton performing the bittersweet Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire. A young couple seem to have everything a family could want until a life shattering accident turns their world upside down and leaves them drifting perilously apart.
Fred Skeleton Theatre Company of Kelowna, last year’s double winner of both O-Zone and Mainstage, present The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh on Sunday May 22. In this black comedy, a mysterious writer is interrogated. His deranged tales link him to a string of copycat murders. Secrets are revealed, mystery unravelled, and fiction influences reality.
Host club, South Okanagan Amateur Players, stage Sleeping Indoors by Jim Holt on Monday May 23. When a philanthropic housewife invites a homeless stranger into her home for the holidays, she and her family must re-evaluate their priorities, what makes a person ‘rich’, and the definition of personal freedom, and gain a new perspective on sleeping indoors.
On Tuesday May 24, Back Stage Theatre will perform Posing for Mr. Wiser written, produced and directed by Michael L. Poirier. Mr. Wiser is a bitter alcoholic, retired police officer, and determined artist. He cannot keep a willing model until a cheeky twenty-one-year-old enters his studio and challenges his attitude.
Powerhouse Theatre returns to the festival this year on Wednesday May 25 with the hilarious Unnecessary Farce by Paul Slade Smith. A cheap motel room. Two undercover cops. Three crooks. An embezzling mayor. His female accountant, who keeps taking off her clothes. Go figure.
On Thursday May 26, the Asparagus Community Theatre presents The Maids by Jean Genet. Two sisters are maids to a wealthy society woman. The unstable relationship between the revengeful maids and their unsuspecting employer escalates until violent fantasies threaten to become reality.
Friday May 27 turns the spotlight on Guy Vanderhaeghe’s I Had a Job I Liked. Once. by the Shuswap Theatre. A by-the-book RCMP sergeant must uncover the truth when a crown attorney’s daughter accuses a troubled teenage boy of an egregious crime. Is he guilty? What is he hiding? Why won’t he tell the truth?
Curtain at 7:30 p.m. and doors open at 6:30 p.m. at the Frank Venables Theatre. A wine bar and light refreshments are available.
All tickets are reserved seating, online at www.soplayers.ca/festival . Single tickets are 22.50 adults and $8 students. Adults save with multi-show packages.
Want to rub shoulders with the stars? Walk the red carpet? Check online for details about the fascinating Coffee Critiques each morning at 11:00. Feast Hollywood-style on Saturday May 28 at 6 p.m., at Walnut Beach Resort, catered by Neon Wolfe Creations. An awards ceremony follows, with live entertainment, and dancing, all for $32.
Questions? Phone 250-498-0183 or email info@soplayers.ca