Three Plays, Three Cities, Three Openings, Two Nights – what a way to kick off March for the NAC English Theatre!
Last week, English Theatre celebrated in style as three co-productions opened in Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.
February 27th saw the opening night of Michel Nadeau’s beautiful And Slowly Beauty… at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto. The show, a co-production with the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, was a big hit with audiences when it played in the NAC Studio last season, and was awarded the Capital Critics Circle Award for Best Production this past year. The play has taken up right where it left off, with Toronto audiences strongly embracing this remarkable piece.
Two nights later on March 1st at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Wendy Lill’s The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum, based on the book by Sheldon Currie, opened to a wildly enthusiastic audience. English Theatre Managing Director Nancy Webster and Young Company Manager Judi Pearl were on hand to help celebrate this co-production, and Nancy noted “there were gasps of excitement when the audience realized Sheldon Currie was in the theatre.” Part of the celebration included a live piper playing as the audience entered.
An hour later, Beverley Cooper’s Innocence Lost: A Play About Steven Truscott , a co-production with the Centaur Theatre in Montreal, began in the NAC Theatre. This powerful story about the Steven Truscott case, and how a rural town was rocked and changed forever by the tragedy, arrived after a great run in Montreal, and has already become the talk of the town. The conversations continued beyond the theatre, generating op-ed articles by the judicial community in the city’s daily following the Ottawa opening.
Artistic Director Jillian Keiley and Beverley Cooper spoke at the post-show reception afterwards, thanking a wonderful Company for helping put together such great work, and Beverley spoke how much it meant to see her play performed in both Montreal and Ottawa.
It was an exciting pair of evenings for Theatre at the NAC! Innocence Lost: A Play About Steven Truscott continues
in the NAC Theatre until March 16th, The Glace Bay Miners’ Museum plays at the Neptune Theatre until March 17th, and And Slowly Beauty… runs at the Tarragon Theatre until March 31st.
March Madness - NAC English Theatre is truly everywhere!
