AyckbournFest 2016

TAKE ONE!

FREE PROGRAM 1 6 T H M A S T E R P L AY W R I G H T F E S T I VA L

FE B RUARY 3 –21 PRESENTED BY

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

lucy kirkwood by

a co-production with canadian stage

Extraordinarily ambitious, rich and entertaining – THE TELEGRAPH

feb

mar

24 19

After the massacre in Tiananmen Square, a rookie journalist snaps a photo of a lone protestor confronting a tank. Twenty years later, a tip-off launches him on a quest for new truths about the unknown hero.

WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE, MATURE THEMES

BUY NOW! CALL 204 942 6537 OR VISIT royalmtc.ca

TICKETS S TA R T AT

MESSAGE FROM ROYAL MTC’S

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR When Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking became a hit, Noël Coward sent him a telegram: “All my congratulations on a beautifully constructed and very very funny comedy. I enjoyed every moment of it.” No wonder: the young playwright was following in Coward’s footsteps. Ayckbourn’s work might be a little darker and less upper-crust, but both artists write at that madcap intersection of public etiquette and private transgression.

Ayckbourn’s work is a mash-up of Sigmund Freud, Punch and Judy, and the playwright’s own life. He was an illegitimate child who learned about domestic violence from his stepfather, a boys’ school graduate who went girl-crazy after graduation, and a theatre manager who offered audiences psychological depth balanced with populist comedy and spatial inventiveness. When actors in House and Garden sprint between two theatres to perform in concurrent stories, we even see traces of Ayckbourn’s childhood love of board games.

Those games came to mind when Ayckbourn generously offered me a tour of his Stephen Joseph Theatre. I was a little in awe.

After all, he once had five shows running on the West End at the same time, yet he was down-to-earth and very practical. As we walked through the space, I realized that his theatre-in-theround was like the game boards of his youth: a place to exercise a clever mind and to delight those of us lucky enough to play along with him.

Yours always,

Steven Schipper Artistic Director THANK YOU TO OUR AYCKBOURNFEST SUPPORTERS!

ALAN AYCKBOURN

BIO

Alan was born in Hampstead, London in 1939. Educated at Haileybury, Alan left school at the age of 17 to pursue a career in the theatre, immediately gaining a job with the theatre impresario Sir Donald Wolfit in 1956. Alan went on to work at theatres in Worthing, Leatherhead and Oxford, before being employed in 1957 as a stage manager and actor at the Library Theatre, Scarborough.

Alan was inspired by Library Theatre founder Stephen Joseph, who became a mentor and encouraged Alan to both write and direct. Alan’s first professional writing commission was inadvertently inspired by his acting career when he complained about a role he was playing. Stephen threw down the gauntlet saying that if Alan wanted better roles, he should write one himself. Alan wrote The Square Cat. This was a success for the company in the summer of 1959 and Stephen immediately commissioned a second play, Love After All, for the winter of 1959.

Alan continued to act and write for the Library Theatre until 1962 when he was involved in the formation of the Victoria Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, with Stephen Joseph and Peter Cheeseman.

This was the country’s first permanent professional theatre in-the-round and Alan premiered two plays there, Christmas V Mastermind and Mr Whatnot. The latter was produced in London in 1964 and received such a critical mauling that Alan retreated to the BBC in Leeds as a radio drama producer where he worked between 1965 and 1970.

bio courtesy www.alanayckbourn.net; photo by tony bartholomew

Alan continued writing, though, and produced Meet My Father for the Library Theatre in 1965. This would be a turning point in his life. In 1967, the play – retitled Relatively Speaking – opened in the West End and was a phenomenal hit.

It launched him into the public eye and in quick succession, plays such as How the Other Half Loves, Absurd Person Singular and The Norman Conquests, established Alan Ayckbourn as one of the country’s most popular and successful playwrights. As of 2015, he has written 79 full-length plays, more than half of which have transferred to either the West End or the National Theatre. At one point in 1975, he held the record for having the most professional productions being performed simultaneously in the West End (The Norman Conquests, Absurd Person Singular and Absent Friends). His work has been translated into more than 35 languages and his plays are regularly performed throughout the world.

Stephen Joseph died in 1967 and Alan, alongside Ken Boden, Alfred Bradley and Rodney Wood, worked together to keep the Library Theatre alive. Although Alan was closely involved with the theatre during this period, writing, directing and choosing plays for the company, he would not formally become Artistic Director until 1972. Apart from a two-year hiatus between 1986 and 1988 when he became a company director at the National Theatre, he remained Artistic Director until retiring from that role in 2009.

Concurrent to this, Alan’s directing career also flourished. He directed his first play in 1961, Gaslight, at the Library Theatre and in 1963 directed the world premiere of one of his own plays for the first time. Since 1967 he has directed the world premieres of all his plays and since 1977, he has directed all the West End premieres of his plays bar one. Since 1961, Alan has directed more than 300 productions and is considered one of the world’s pre-eminent directors of in-the-round staging.

Alan Ayckbourn has received more than 35 awards and honours including two Oliviers, a Tony, two Molières and Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the Variety Club of Great Britain and the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain. In 2009, he was inducted into American Theater’s Hall of Fame and received the prestigious Society’s Special Award at the Laurence Olivier Awards. The holder of a number of honourary degrees, he was appointed a CBE in 1987 and in 1997 was knighted for ‘services to the theatre’.

SELECT WORKS BY ALAN AYCKBOURN PLAYS

FILM ADAPTATIONS

Love After All (1959)

A Chorus of Disapproval (1984)

Standing Room Only (1961)

The Revengers’ Comedies (1989)

Relatively Speaking (1965) How the Other Half Loves (1969)

Smoking/No Smoking (An adaptation of Intimate Exchanges) (1994)

Absurd Person Singular (1972)

The Revengers’ Comedies (1998)

Table Manners (1973)

Coeurs (An adaptation of Private Fears in Public Places) (2006)

Confusions (1974) Bedroom Farce (1975) Season’s Greetings (1980) Woman in Mind (1985)

Aimer, Boire et Chanter (An adaptation of Life of Riley) (2014)

Henceforward… (1987) Mr. A’s Amazing Maze Plays (1988)

TELEVISION ADAPTATIONS

Wildest Dreams (1991)

Service Not Included (1974) for BBC2

Things We Do For Love (1997) Comic Potential (1998) Improbable Fiction (2005) Arrivals and Departures (2013) Hero’s Welcome (2015)

The Norman Conquests (1977) for ITV Men On Women On Men (Directed by Alan Ayckbourn) (1978) for BBC1 Deadly Virtues (Directed

by Alan Ayckbourn) (1984) for BBC1 Way Upstream (1988) for BBC 1

By Jeeves (Directed by Alan Ayckbourn) (2001) for CBC

HOW AYCKBOURNFEST WORKS FEBRUARY 3 – 21 A legend of West End theatre, British playwright Alan Ayckbourn has written and produced more than 70 full-length plays that have appeared on London’s most prolific stages. The 16th annual Master Playwright Festival highlights his extensive body of work which spanned several decades and earned more than 35 awards – including two Oliviers, two Molières and a Tony.

Individual tickets start at $12 Tickets are available by contacting the box office for each production. See the company write-ups in this program for details.

AYCKBOURNPASS only $85 The best way to experience all the festival has to offer is by purchasing an AyckbournPass. A pass allows one admission to each production at a savings of 50%. Buy today, the number of passes is limited!

BUY YOUR PASS AT THE ROYAL MTC BOX OFFICE! CALL 204 942 6537 | TOLL-FREE 1 877 446 4500 Admission to all events is subject to availability. All sales final, no exchanges or refunds. Tara Players’ February 6 dinner theatre performance is not included in the AyckbournPass. royalmtc.ca/MPF | #AyckbournFest

FREE LECTURE SERIES Introducing Ayckbourn

Wednesday, February 3 at 6:00pm King’s Head Pub, 120 King Street (2nd floor) Guest Lecturer: Dr. Margaret Groome In his 56th year as a playwright, Sir Alan Ayckbourn continues to add to his award-winning body of work. He has written 79 plays to date with the latest, Hero’s Welcome, premiering in 2015. Dedicating himself almost exclusively to the stage, Ayckbourn was knighted in 1997. AyckbournFest kicks off with Dr. Margaret Groome’s introductory lecture where she’ll talk about the themes and ideas that populate this master playwright’s work.

Discovering Ayckbourn: A Directors’ Panel Sunday, February 7 at 12:00pm Tom Hendry Warehouse 140 Rupert Avenue (at Lily)

By his own admission, Alan Ayckbourn loves to be in a rehearsal room. He undoubtedly shares that enthusiasm with our panel of directors who will engage in a lively discussion about the challenges and rewards of taking an Ayckbourn play from page to stage.

PANELISTS: Jessina Cheffins (Tara Players Theatre Company, How the Other Half Loves) Heather Forgie (R-G Productions, Relatively Speaking) Jeff Madden (Winnipeg Mennonite Theatre, Improbable Fiction) Ray Strachan (Echo Theatre, A Strange Pair) Kent Suss (MTYP Young Company, This Is Where We Came In)

“I always consider myself as a director who writes rather than a writer who directs, because directing takes up so much of my time.”

- SIR ALAN AYCKBOURN

Proudly Supports

AyckbournfeSt

2016

Check for coverage in your Winnipeg Free Press

To subscribe call 204-697-7001 or visit winnipegfreepress.com/subscribe-new

A STRANGE PAIR

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN ECHO THEATRE Dalnavert Museum 61 Carlton Street No wheelchair access Capacity 20 In cooperation with the Dalnavert Museum, Echo Theatre brings you yet another exciting evening of dramatics and musical interludes featuring two short plays. Sit in the parlour as a married couple has tea! Hear their innermost thoughts!

Be astounded by the Ratings Officer who has come to collect!

Follow her, trembling, as you discover what’s in the cellar!

Be cheered and delighted by nightly musical entertainment between 8:00-8:30!

From the company who brought you such Master Playwright Festival hits as Blithe Spirit, The Skriker and Jumpers!

Directed by Ray Strachan Cast: Kevin Klassen, Charlene Van Buekenhout and Stefanie Wiens www.echotheatre.net “The coroner said – he said it was a tragic case of a misguided search for artistic perfection.”

thu, feb 4 7:30pm & 8:00pm fri, feb 5 7:30pm & 8:00pm sat, feb 6 7:30pm & 8:00pm sun, feb 7 1pm, 2pm, 3:30pm & 4:30pm mon, feb 8 7:30pm & 8:00pm tue, feb 9 7:30pm & 8:00pm thu, feb 11 7:30pm & 8:00pm fri, feb 12 7:30pm & 8:00pm sat, feb 13 7:30pm & 8:00pm sun, feb 14 1pm, 2pm, 3:30pm & 4:30pm

10

60 minutes (evenings) 40 minutes (matinees) tickets $20 matinee $15 (does not include musical entertainment) at the door: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens 7:00pm evenings, 12:30pm matinees. in advance: visit www.astrangepair. brownpapertickets.com call 204 995 6876 email echoboxoffice@gmail.com

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

BEDROOM FARCE

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN DRAMATIC THEATRE Bandwidth Theatre 585 Ellice Avenue Wheelchair accessible Capacity 200 Taking place sequentially in three beleaguered couples’ bedrooms during one endless Saturday night of codependence and dysfunction, beds, tempers and domestic order are ruffled leading to a hilariously surprising ending.

Directed by Justin Danyluk www.dramatictheatre.net thu, feb 11 8:00pm fri, feb 12 8:00pm sat, feb 13 2:00pm sat, feb 13 8:00pm sun, feb 14 2:00pm sun, feb 14 8:00pm

2 hours (with intermission) tickets $15 discounts available for groups of 10 or more. at the door: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens 30 minutes before showtime. in advance: call 204 691 4182 or visit www.dramatictheatre.net for tickets and pass reservations.

#AYCKBOURNFEST

11

CONFUSIONS

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN SHOESTRING PLAYERS Forrest Nickerson Theatre, Deaf Centre Manitoba 285 Pembina Highway Wheelchair accessible Capacity 180 From a devoted and isolated mother to her unfaithful travelling salesman husband, through a solicitous waiter to well-heeled diners and an utterly shambolic garden fete, human frailty is laid bare as one hilarious situation after another unfolds. The final scene, in which five strangers vie for four available spaces on a park bench, is a form of verbal fugue where the common themes of obsession, disconnectedness and human desire for companionship are played out. From high farce to poignant observation, the laughs, however dark, keep coming.

Directed by Katherine McLennan Cast: Leslie Boardman, Bernard Boland, Don Carruthers, Karl Eckstrand, Jennifer Gottwald, Laura Harrison, Martin Howell, Pete Hudson, Amita Khandpur, Rhonda Kennedy Rogers, Andrea Marantz, Duncan McGregor, Linda Meckling, Cheryl Moore, Craig Oliphant, Mike Seccombe, Carol Stephens, Joe Stratton, Paul Warkentin “I think dogs are more intelligent than people.

They’re much better company.”

thu, feb 4 7:30pm fri, feb 5 7:30pm sat, feb 6 2:00pm sat, feb 6 7:30pm sun, feb 7 2:00pm mon, feb 8 7:30pm tue, feb 9 7:30pm

2 hours, 15 minutes (with intermission) tickets $15 at the door: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens 45 minutes before showtime. in advance: call 204 475 6821

12

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

10–20

MARCH

15 /16 SEASON T H E AT R E P R O J EC T S P R E S E N T S

RESERVATIONS B Y S T E V E N R AT Z L A F F D I R EC T E D B Y E M M A T I B A L D O & I A N R O S S F E AT U R I N G S A R A H C O N S T I B L E , T R A C E Y N E P I N A K & S T E V E N R AT Z L A F F

THE R ACHEL BROWNE THE ATRE

TIX & INFO:

204.989.2400

OR T HE AT R E P R O JE C T S M A NI T OB A .C A

Creatives and geeks, working as one to build brands that get watched.

relishbranding.ca

MASTER

SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3 6:00pm Introducing Ayckbourn (lecture) 7:30pm Things We Do For Love 8:05pm Improbable Fiction

14

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4 7:30pm A Strange Pair 7:30pm Confusions 7:30pm How the Other Half Loves 8:00pm A Strange Pair 8:00pm Things We Do For Love 8:05pm Improbable Fiction FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 5 7:30pm A Strange Pair 7:30pm Confusions 7:30pm How the Other Half Loves 7:30pm Things We Do For Love 8:00pm A Strange Pair 8:05pm Improbable Fiction SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 2:00pm Confusions 2:35pm Improbable Fiction 3:30pm Things We Do For Love 6:00pm How the Other Half Loves 7:30pm A Strange Pair 7:30pm Confusions 7:30pm Things We Do For Love 8:00pm A Strange Pair 8:05pm Improbable Fiction 8:30pm Things We Do For Love SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 12:00pm Discovering Ayckbourn:

Directors’ Panel (lecture) 1:00pm A Strange Pair 2:00pm A Strange Pair 2:00pm Confusions 2:00pm How the Other Half Loves 3:30pm A Strange Pair 4:30pm A Strange Pair MONDAY, FEBRUARY 8 7:30pm A Strange Pair 7:30pm Confusions 7:30pm Private Fears in Public

Places (reading) 8:00pm A Strange Pair 8:00pm Things We Do For Love

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 9 7:30pm A Strange Pair 7:30pm Confusions 7:30pm How the Other Half Loves 7:30pm Things We Do For Love 8:00pm A Strange Pair WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 7:30pm How the Other Half Loves 7:30pm Things We Do For Love THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 7:00pm Table Manners 7:30pm A Strange Pair 7:30pm How the Other Half Loves 8:00pm A Strange Pair 8:00pm Bedroom Farce 8:00pm Things We Do For Love FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12 7:00pm Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations 7:00pm Table Manners 7:30pm A Strange Pair 7:30pm How the Other Half Loves 7:30pm Things We Do For Love 8:00pm A Strange Pair 8:00pm Bedroom Farce SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13 1:00pm Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations 2:00pm Bedroom Farce 3:30pm Things We Do For Love 6:00pm Table Manners 7:30pm A Strange Pair 7:30pm How the Other Half Loves 8:00pm A Strange Pair 8:00pm Bedroom Farce 8:30pm Things We Do For Love SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14 1:00pm A Strange Pair 1:00pm Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations 2:00pm A Strange Pair 2:00pm Bedroom Farce 2:00pm Table Manners 3:30pm A Strange Pair 4:30pm A Strange Pair

#AYCKBOURNFEST

7:00pm House and Garden (reading) 8:00pm Bedroom Farce MONDAY, FEBRUARY 15 1:00pm Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations 7:00pm Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations 8:00pm Things We Do For Love TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 16 7:00pm Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations 7:30pm Things We Do For Love WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17 7:30pm Things We Do For Love THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 18 12:30pm This Is Where We Came In 2:00pm Things We Do For Love 7:00pm Table Manners 7:30pm Relatively Speaking 7:30pm This Is Where We Came In 8:00pm Things We Do For Love FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 19 12:30pm This Is Where We Came In 7:00pm Table Manners 7:30pm Relatively Speaking 7:30pm This Is Where We Came In 7:30pm Things We Do For Love SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20 12:30pm This Is Where We Came In 2:00pm Relatively Speaking 3:30pm Things We Do For Love 4:30pm This Is Where We Came In 6:00pm Table Manners 7:30pm Relatively Speaking 8:30pm Things We Do For Love SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21 2:00pm Relatively Speaking 2:00pm Table Manners

15

ERNIE’S INCREDIBLE ILLUCINATIONS

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN MERLYN PRODUCTIONS Forrest Nickerson Theatre 285 Pembina Highway Wheelchair accessible Capacity 175 This zany, FAMILY-FRIENDLY English comedy was penned with young people in mind — and is the most produced Ayckbourn play of the past 20 years!

Ernie Fraser is a dreamer with a difference. Ernie’s fantasies have the habit of turning into reality! Concerned about his “illucinations”, Ernie’s mum and dad bring him to the doctor. You can imagine everyone’s surprise when the illucinations turn out to be real!

If “Flying Circus” characters suddenly emerged from the imagination of a young boy, this show could very well be the result!

Directed by John Chase www.merlyn.biz “Because I want children to experience the magic and excitement of live performance; something that no amount of film or video trickery can ever quite match.”

- ALAN AYCKBOURN

fri, feb 12 7:00pm sat, feb 13 1:00pm sun, feb 14 1:00pm mon, feb 15 1:00pm mon, feb 15 7:00pm tue, feb 16 7:00pm

50 minutes tickets $12 children & teens (under 18) $10 group rates available for 10 or more. at the door: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens 30 minutes before showtime. in advance: visit www.merlyn.biz call 204 415 2714

16

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

Proud SPonSorS of AyckbournFest All performers enjoy 20% off in-house printing!

Richardson Centre Concourse - L9 1 Lombard Place Winnipeg, MB R3B 0X3

T: 204.949.1218 W: madeformaking.com E: shop@vantagestudios.ca

A Division of the CHR Group Inc.

STAGED READING

HOUSE AND GARDEN

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN ACTRA/PAL WINNIPEG Tom Hendry Warehouse 140 Rupert Avenue (at Lily) Wheelchair accessible Capacity 286 Two Ayckbourn comedies performed simultaneously by the same actors playing the same characters. Two locations – one inside the theatre and the other in the lobby – and 14 actors dashing back and forth. It’s the same story told through different events with slightly different perspectives. Come with a friend. Pick one each. You’ll have lots to talk about afterwards.

Fourteen of Winnipeg’s finest (and fastest) professional actors tell a story of couples coupling, uncoupling and recoupling.

A staged reading and benefit for PAL Winnipeg, working to build a Performing Arts Lodge for members of our arts community. www.palwinnipeg.org

sun, feb 14 7:00pm 2 hours

18

tickets $15 (donation to pal winnipeg) at the door only: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens one hour before showtime.

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

HOW THE OTHER HALF LOVES

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN TARA PLAYERS THEATRE COMPANY Irish Association of Manitoba 654 Erin Street No wheelchair access Capacity 83 This comedy is driven by a common theme: adultery. The adulterers try to maintain the secrecy of their infidelities by using a third couple as a cover-up, and the game is on. There are suspicions and there is lack of suspicion; where what is obvious to the audience is not even noticed by the cuckold. The play is set in two living rooms and the action of the play takes place in both houses simultaneously... what fun!

Directed by Jessina Cheffins Cast: Tim Webster, Anita Daher, Rob Kwade, Dianna Rasing, Kevin P. Gabel, Jennifer Clary-Lemon www.irishassociation.ca/index.php/taraplayers

thu, feb 4 7:30pm fri, feb 5 7:30pm sat, feb 6 6:00pm (dinner theatre show, no passes) sun, feb 7 2:00pm tue, feb 9 7:30pm wed, feb 10 7:30pm thu, feb 11 7:30pm fri, feb 12 7:30pm sat, feb 13 7:30pm (play & music show, passes accepted - musical guest rob waddell)

#AYCKBOURNFEST

80 minutes tickets $15 dinner theatre $55 play & music show $20 (sat, feb 13) at the door: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens one hour before showtime. in advance: email taraplayers.tickets@gmail.com

19

IMPROBABLE FICTION

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN WINNIPEG MENNONITE THEATRE Théâtre Cercle Molière 340 Provencher Boulevard Wheelchair accessible Capacity 125 Six aspiring authors meet on a winter’s evening to discuss their work. Among them are writers of historical romance, children’s literature, science fiction, crime, instruction manuals and school musicals. They are all in a writing rut and the chair of the meeting, Arnold, suggests a collaboration of their work as an exercise. His idea is met without enthusiasm. However, as Arnold is clearing up after the meeting, there is a clap of thunder, a black-out and the story that would have resulted from their collaboration takes place before his very eyes.

Sharp comedy and affectionate satire characterize this zany, imaginative play.

Directed by Jeff Madden www.winnipegmennonitetheatre.ca “Yes, I feel a trifle dizzy. I may have missed a bit of sleep somewhere. Actually, I’m secretly hoping I might wake up in a minute.”

wed, feb 3 8:05pm thu, feb 4 8:05pm fri, feb 5 8:05pm sat, feb 6 2:35pm sat, feb 6 8:05pm

2 hours tickets $20 students $10 (wed feb 3 only) at the door: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens one hour before showtime. in advance: www.winnipegmennonitetheatre.ca call 204 452 1573

20

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

STAGED READING

PRIVATE FEARS IN PUBLIC PLACES

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN THE ACTORS’ FUND OF CANADA Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Lobby 174 Market Avenue Wheelchair accessible Capacity 75 Private Fears in Public Places presents 6 characters whose 4 stories of hope and searching are deftly interwoven over 54 scenes. Since its premiere in 2004, the play has been admired as a delicate contrast to Ayckbourn’s farces and as one of his best later works. The play masterfully combines lively comedy with a tender poignancy in revealing how six people are essentially solitary and isolated despite their intersecting lives.

Michael Billington’s description of the play is especially telling: “Quintessentially theatrical in its Chekhovian ability to wring laughter out of quiet desperation.”

Directed by Margaret Groome www.actorsfund.ca “But we are what we are, aren’t we? When all’s said and done. That’s what I always say.”

mon, feb 8 7:30pm 2 hours

#AYCKBOURNFEST

tickets $12 (suggested donation) at the door only: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens one hour before showtime.

21

RELATIVELY SPEAKING

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN R-G PRODUCTIONS Forrest Nickerson Theatre 285 Pembina Highway Wheelchair accessible Capacity 180 Greg and Ginny have decided to get married. She says she’s going to see her parents but is actually going to tell her former employer and lover that all is over between them. She doesn’t expect Greg to follow her there, but he does, wanting desperately to impress her parents. He arrives first and has a lovely visit with Ginny’s “mother” and a rather awkward one with her “father.” It isn’t until Ginny arrives that her lover begins to understand what’s going on. To what lengths will they go to keep their secret?

Directed by Heather Forgie “Quite wrong for each other, of course. It’ll be a disastrous marriage but great fun for them while it lasts.”

thu, feb 18 7:30pm fri, feb 19 7:30pm sat, feb 20 2:00pm sat, feb 20 7:30pm sun, feb 21 2:00pm

2 hours tickets $15 students $10 at the door: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens one hour before showtime. in advance: call 204 297 6539 email hforgie@gmail.com

22

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

Contemporary Manitoban Fare

created by Executive Chef Eraj Jayawickreme using fresh, locally sourced produce and ingredients.

Join us for a meal or drinks before or after the show!

Located in the Fairmont Winnipeg hotel. For reservations or further information please call 204 957 1350 or visit www.velvetglovewinnipeg.com

“The darker the subject, the more light you must try to shed on the matter.

And vice versa.�

- ALAN AYCKBOURN

TABLE MANNERS

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN BROKEN RECORD PRODUCTIONS Harrow United Church 955 Mulvey Avenue Wheelchair accessible Capacity 200 Table Manners is the introductory play of The Norman Conquests, a unique comedy trilogy that made its way to Broadway and was televised on PBS in England. Norman, the kept husband of Ruth, has planned an intimate weekend getaway with her sister Annie but as the family arrives, plans go awry.

Norman’s scheming cannot easily be discarded by the pesky and meddling in-laws, and so it goes.

“The trouble is, I was born in the wrong damn body. Look at me. A gigolo trapped in a haystack.

The tragedy of my life. Norman Dewers, gigolo and assistant librarian.”

thu, feb 11 7:00pm fri, feb 12 7:00pm sat, feb 13 6:00pm sun, feb 14 2:00pm thu, feb 18 7:00pm fri, feb 19 7:00pm sat, feb 20 6:00pm sun, feb 21 2:00pm

24

2 hours tickets $15 students/seniors $12 at the door: cash/ayckbournpass box office opens one hour before showtime. in advance: call 204 284 0079 email brokenrecordproductions2014@ gmail.com

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN ROYAL MANITOBA THEATRE CENTRE Tom Hendry Warehouse 140 Rupert Avenue (at Lily) Wheelchair accessible Capacity 286 Blissfully oblivious to the affections of her downstairs neighbour, Barbara has fashioned a quiet, solitary existence. But when she rents out her top flat to an old friend and her fiancé, Barbara unwittingly unleashes a firestorm of unexpected and violent passions to the household. As love invades her home like a boorish houseguest, Barbara’s well-ordered world threatens to come undone. In his wickedly insightful comedy, Alan Ayckbourn examines the things we do — and wish we didn’t do — for love.

Directed by Mariam Bernstein Starring Sarah Constible, Paul Essiembre, Rob McLaughlin, Laura Olafson www.royalmtc.ca “Have you never been in love, Barbs? Ever?”

- NIKKI “I don’t think so. If I have been, I haven’t noticed.”

- BARBARA

february 3 – 20 mon, thu 8:00pm tue, wed, fri 7:30pm sat 3:30pm & 8:30pm thu, feb 18 2:00pm

2 hours, 15 minutes (with intermission) warnings: strong language, mature content tickets start at $22 ask about rush tickets: www.royalmtc.ca/rush at the door: cash/interac/visa, mastercard, american express/ayckbournpass box office opens one hour before showtime. in advance: call 204 942 6537 visit royalmtc.ca

#AYCKBOURNFEST

25

THIS IS WHERE WE CAME IN

BY ALAN AYCKBOURN MANITOBA THEATRE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE YOUNG COMPANY Manitoba Theatre for Young People 2 Forks Market Road Wheelchair accessible Capacity 102 Fred loves a good story, but he didn’t expect to be trapped in one! Drawn into a world of tangled tales, Fred joins the players in their struggle against three wicked storytellers who are pulling the strings. Soon he is fighting for his life; the storytellers are determined to make his character disappear.

Twisted fairy tales mingle with a dark saga of danger and desire in this adventure into imagination, romance and wonder, presented by the Young Company at Manitoba Theatre for Young People.

Directed by Kent Suss Cast: Coleman Paul, Sophie Smith-Dostmohamed, Kiera Martin-Shimoji, Amelia Deitzer-Dicks, Marielle Hill, Rachel Archer-Heese, Sarah Fanous, Sasha Svenne, Lucas Salomons, Tiana Klippenstein, Taryn Edgeworth, Chloe Langevin, Aidan Zeglinski, Michael Silk www.mtyp.ca

thu, feb 18 12:30pm thu, feb 18 7:30pm fri, feb 19 12:30pm fri, feb 19 7:30pm sat, feb 20 12:30pm sat, feb 20 4:30pm

1 hr, 40 minutes tickets $14 student group rate $5 (school matinees only) at the door: cash/visa/mc/interac box office open 9–5, monday – friday, and one hour before showtime. in advance: visit www.mtyp.ca call 204 942 8898

26

ROYALMTC.CA/MPF

COME AND TRY THE BEST FISH AND CHIPS IN THE CITY! Open for lunch daily FRIDAY LUNCH CURRY BUFFET

PATRONS & PERFORMERS VISIT US AND ENJOY OUR

NIGHTLY DINNER SPECIALS HAPPY HOUR MON - THURS 2 PM - 7 PM Hours: Monday – Friday 11:30 AM – 2 AM Saturday and Sunday 2 PM – 2 AM

120 KING STREET Phone 204-957-7710

174 Market Avenue • Winnipeg, Manitoba • R3B 0P8 ROYALMTC.CA