Attitude Theatre Productions

Upcoming Productions

TALKING HEADS BY ALAN BENNETT

March 2023!

Bed Among the Lentils featuring Lorene Cammiade

Synopsis: Susan, a vicar's wife, alcoholic troubled with a disappointing life, questions her faith in Christianity and her loveless marriage to Geoffrey, a sanctimonious, self-absorbed cleric preoccupied with his ambition for promotion in the Anglican Church. Susan finds comfort, affection and compassion with an Asian grocer that turns into a love affair with the exquisitely delicate and polite Mr Ramesh. Susan shares with us her perspective on the contrast between Hinduism and Anglicanism. This is the very best of the Talking Heads monologues rich in pathos and comedy. A story of alcoholism, forbidden love and the journey of a tortured soul ending with a terribly moving confession.
A Lady of Letters featuring Elizabeth Whitmarsh

Synopsis: Irene Ruddock is an ordinary middle-aged woman, living alone and devotes her time to letter writing to anyone in the community complaining, criticizing, and sometimes offending people like her local MP, the police and even the Queen. Miss Ruddock as she likes to be addressed is warned by the authorities to cease her disruptive and inflammatory correspondence upsetting the public. The local constabulary has received reports that she caused the nervous breakdown of the lollipop man when she accused him of abusing schoolchildren and called the chemist's wife a prostitute. Two local doctors prescribe antidepressant pills but she flushes them down the toilet because " they are not doing the trick ". Social workers are assigned to help Miss Ruddock find a more positive outlook on life. Eventually, Miss Ruddock launches a new letter-writing campaign that targets the police. The result is a disaster for Irene Ruddock of the worst kind or is it?

Directed by: Tony Cain
Theatre: Paul Philips Hall Fernwood
Tickets: Click here to buy tickets from Eventbrite
(Also available at the door $20.00 Cash only.)

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Performance Dates:
Fri, 17 March 2023, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM PDT
Sat, 18 March 2023, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM PDT
Sun, 19 March 2023, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM PDT
Thu, 23 March 2023, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM PDT
Sat, 25 March 2023, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM PDT
Sun, 26 March 2023, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM PDT

Past Productions

LADY DAY AT EMERSON'S BAR AND GRILL

September and October - 2022

A full-length musical drama where jazz and theatre merge in a tribute to one of the greatest jazz legends, Billie Holiday.
The time is 1959. The place is Emerson’s bar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The audience is about to witness one of Billie Holiday’s last performances. More than a dozen songs are interlaced with salty, often humorous stories and reflections to project a riveting portrait of the lady and her music.

STARRING:
Rosemary Jeffery as Billie Holiday
Jason Jeffrey as Emerson

FEATURING:
Pianist Attila Fias as Jimmy Powers
Bassist Joey Smith

Angela Henry – Director
Dani Parkinson - Co Director
Kim Greenwood – Music Director

LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals. http://www.concordtheatricals.com

THE DUCK VARIATIONS

Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Mamet's profoundly funny rumination on life, death and ducks comes to James Bay!
Ira Shorr and David Biltek play charming curmudgeons, enthusiastically sharing misinformation on a lakeside bench, in what The Guardian has called
"A Brilliant Little Play".
A rarely produced but treasured early play of Mamet, inspired by his listening to the conversations of his Jewish grandfather and friends. A warm, comical and philosophical take on the mysteries of the universe.
David Mamet is one of the most prolific and influential playwrights of the latter-20th century, Mamet has also written a host of feature films including the screenplay adaption of his Pulitzer Prize winning play, Glengarry, Glen, Ross.
Directed by: Tony Cain, Featuring: David Biltek and Ira Shorr

APR, MAY 2022

UNTIL THE FLOOD

OCT, NOV, DEC 2021

Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith Attitude Theatre, Langham Court Theatre and Bēma Productions are pleased to announce a collaborative project.

Until the Flood is a compassionate and provocative play written in response to the 2014 killing of a young black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri, by a white police officer. It is the culmination of numerous interviews conducted in the St. Louis area by the playwright in the aftermath of the shooting.

The characters are composites of the actual citizens interviewed, reflecting diverse perspectives and the play illuminates the impact that a single tragic event can have on an individual and the broader community.

Content Warning: Graphic and racist language is used throughout this play, with some possible triggering scenes describing physical abuse and violence.

TALKING HEADS

NOV 18, 21 2021

Attitude Theatre and Theatre Carpe Diem present Alan Bennett’s TALKING HEADS

Two eccentric, funny, and touching one-act monologues! HER BIG CHANCE, Directed by Wendy Gail starring Dierdre Tipping, A CHIP IN THE SUGAR, Directed by Merry Hallsor starring Malcolm Harvey.

BRILLIANT TRACES

OCT 29 - NOV 2 2019

There are some plays that I have seen or read that seem to haunt me like stories that I need to tell.

Cindy Lou Johnson’s Brilliant Traces had been sitting on my shelf nagging me over a decade. It is a rollercoaster of a play about a man and a woman thrown together in the confines of a cabin trapped by a raging snowstorm and having to come to terms with each other’s temperaments. I was drawn to the exploration of two strangers thrown together, both seriously flawed characters, and constantly taunting each other to openly reveal their demons. A compelling journey of conflict, love, and mutual healing between a man and a woman illuminating how we live today.

I was blessed with a talented cast that always brought energy and innovative creativity to every rehearsal. Ursula Szolak as Rosannah Deluce brought a tenacity and drive that opens the play with such an explosive entrance that the audience never gets time to recover. Brian Quakenbush playing the role of Henry Harry created a tortured lost soul, a sad recluse, living a futile solitary existence desperately trying to cope with the guilt of a tragic loss.

I was helped by my sound designer Mitch Barnes who created a wonderfully haunting dreamlike atmosphere. As always, Michael Gosselin, our co- founder, director/producer and you name it, was present to give support and advice to our actors when I was not available and guide the production crew.

“Brilliant acting. Brilliant direction. Really great theatre.” - Penny Costen Pitcher

SHAKESPEARE'S WILL

DEC 28,29,30,31 - 2018

I chose Vern Thiessen’s piece for many reasons. I wanted Attitude Theatre Victoria to come out of the gate with a bold, daring energy that would engage the audience full on. When I first read Shakespeare’s Will I was immediately aware that this was a play for an actor that had the stamina that could command the stage for over an hour without a break. Thiessen’s portrait of Anne Hathaway covered a whole range of emotional complexities. The actor would have to learn to dance a Galliard, sing 16th century songs, play multiple characters both male and female, and to command the attention of the audience to perform at an unrelenting pace. Rosemary Jeffery was brilliant in the role. There were some minor obstacles namely I wanted a “ theatre in the round “ style that the actor and co director were not familiar with. Very soon Rosemary learned the technique of moving around the space with grace and precision and developed the skill in using the “ Voms “ ( Vomitoriums ) to deliver the text.

Vern Thiessen wrote the whole play in “ blank verse “ and included a sonnet (145) to be recited, so we took the time to learn all about “ iambic pentameter “ and how to deliver text in verse. The Elizabethan songs chosen by Tim Watters were performed by Rosemary with such pathos and passion that every performance produced tears from our audiences. The text required the actor to interpret the voices and movements of a dozen different characters including Will Shakespeare, Anne’s son Hamnet, the two daughters, Susanah and Judith.

I am full of admiration for Rosemary’s extraordinary energy and hard work and total commitment that she brought to this project. Without my co-director Michael Gosselin, his creative energy and countless hours working with Rosemary through the many demanding scenes and the knowledge, expertise, and care that Tim Watters devoted to the sound design and musical choices. Sylvia Hosie, our choreographer guided Rosemary through the blocking of the childbirth scene and coached the intricate dance steps for the Galliard. Without this kind of collaboration we would not have realised such a compelling, tour de force production. Indeed, the team work on this production made it one of the most memorable productions I have been involved in.

Upcoming Productions​