Announcement: Canadian Stage Announces 25th Anniversary 2012/2013 Season

Canadian Stage’s upcoming season brings you David Mamet, puppets, robots from Japan, and even Jason Priestley

Today Canadian Stage‘s Artistic and General Director Matthew Jocelyn announced its 2012/2013 season, the 25th anniversary of the company. “The productions and artists on our stages in 2012/2013 will explore some of the big questions about our human experience while pushing the boundaries of what live theatre can be,” said Jocelyn. “To mark our 25th anniversary, we’ve created a season that brings together the best in Canadian and international theatre and dance. The playbill features a mosaic of today’s most talented and thrilling artists.”

The nine planned projects feature five Canadian productions and five created by artists from Australia, Switzerland, the US, Israel, and Japan. All will play at Canadian Stage’s three venues: the Bluma Appel Theatre, the Berkeley Street Theatre and the High Park Ampitheatre.

Shows at the Bluma Appel Theatre include:

Tear the Curtain!, an Electric Company production in association with Vancouver’s Arts Club Theatre Company that will run October 7 to 20, 2012. The show is about a jaded theatre critic who falls in love with a screen siren, and is then caught between two warring mob families – one controlling the playhouses, the other the cinemas. Tear the Curtain! blurs the boundaries between film and theatre in this stylish psychological thriller.

Political Mother, the work of UK-based Israeli choreographer Hofesh Shechter. Part dance spectacle, part rock gig, the show has been called everything from an extended metaphor on political oppression to a “howling beast of a dance show.” There will be a 6 performance run October 24 to 28, 2012.

The Arsonists, Swiss playwright Max Frisch’s famous post-WWII farce about the human ability to ignore acts of despicable evil. Starring Michael Ball and Fiona Reid, it tells the story of a man who is certain the new tenants in his home are arsonists who have already torched much of his small town. The show runs November 11 to December 9, 2012.

This, a comedy running from February 3 – March 3, 2013. It is about a group of “30-somethings” navigating their way through death, parenthood and adultery.

Race, a show written by David Mamet, starring none other than 90210’s Jason Priestley. The show features a wealthy white business-man accused of raping a young black woman, laying bare both a corrupt legal system and racial and sexual rage. It runs April 7 to May 5, 2013.

The Golden Mean (Live), a dance piece about the “golden mean” – in math, a ratio that both describes and reflects balance and beauty in the cosmos. Choreographed by Marie Chouinard, the show runs May 8 to 12, 2013.

Shows at the Berkeley Street Theatre:

Speaking in Tongues, an Australian play about four marriages falling into a mess of sex, lies and neglect after a woman goes missing. Working in association with A Company Theatre, this show runs October 29 to November 24, 2012.

Ignorance, marking the return of Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop’s to Toronto. A puppet documentary about the evolution of happiness, the show attempts to figure out where it came from, and where it’s gone. It runs November 27 to December 8, 2012.

Someone Else, A Crow’s Theatre production about a standup comedianne in a creative slump whose marriage comes into question when someone else comes into the picture. Starring Kristen Thomson (also the playwright) and Tom Rooney, the show runs January 7 to February 2, 2013.

In addition, Canadian Stage will also spotlight Japan from February 26 to March 9, 2013 in an international festival. The first week will feature a double bill: an avant-garde hip-hop choreographer Hiroaki Umeda in two pieces, Haptic and Holistic Strata, and two short plays by Oriza Hirata of Android Robot Theatre called Sayonara and I, Worker, featuring both human and robot actors. The second week features Medea, a dance piece by butoh dancer Carlotta Ikeda in a double bill with Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner and the Farewell Speech, a one-act play by Toshiki Okada.

Shows at the High Park Amphitheatre:

– The 30th anniversary of Shakespeare in High Park (formerly Dream in High Park) will feature Shakespeare’s classic A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a family-friendly pay-what-you-can summer long event, running June 26 to September 2, 2012.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the company, Canadian Stage will offer patrons additional savings with subscriptions available at the cost of 25% less than single-ticket prices (as opposed to the usual 20%). In addition, Canadian Stage will introduce Sunday matinees at the Bluma Appel Theatre.

Details:
– 2012/2013 subscriptions on sale February 2, single tickets available in early September.
– 4 show packages starting from $98, 6 show packagaes starting from $144 and 10 show packages starting from $228.
– Subscriptions available by phone at 416.368.3110 or in-person at the Canadian Stage Box Office: Bluma Appel Theatre (27 Front Street East) or Berkeley Street Theatre (26 Berkeley Street).
– full details at www.canadianstage.com

Photo 1: Cast, Tear the Curtain!. Photo by David Cooper.
Photo 2: Political Mother photo by Tom Medwell.
Photo 3: Lucie Mongrain, Carol Prieur in The Golden Mean (Live). Photo by Sylvie-Ann Paré.