“The play’s the thing,” says Hamlet in one of Shakespeare’s plays.
That notion remains true today, particularly as Shuswap Theatre is hosting three other theatre companies in this year’s Okanagan Zone Drama Festival that runs May 19 to 23.
The host club is always the first to perform as the set is already on stage from the recent run of the play.
Directed by Elizabeth Ann Skelhorne, The Virgin Trial is a political crime drama that reimagines the story of Elizabeth 1 in a modern day setting, exploring themes of victim shaming, sexual awareness and female empowerment. Fifteen year-old Bess has no idea when she heads to London to see her uncle Ted, that she is about to find herself at the heart of a scandal involving her stepfather, Thom, and an attempted overthrow of the government.
This thriller addresses mature themes of sexuality and violence, and includes mild to moderate profanity. It is extremely well-cast, well acted and well-directed. It is also unsettling and, in places, downright harrowing. But it is a reminder of behind-the-scenes political machinations that remain relevant in today’s world.
Tuesday, May 20 is appropriately Tuesdays with Morrie. Written by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom, the play is presented by Asparagus Community Theatre and directed by Cara Nunn. Alborn’s autobiography tells the story of reconnecting with his former college professor, Morrie Schwartz, who is dying of Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS). During their weekly visits, Morrie shares his life lessons. The play is a touching exploration of mentorship, mortality and human connection.
On Wednesday, May 21, Vernon’s Powerhouse Theatre presents Radium Girls. Based on a true story, D.W. Gregory’s gripping drama is about the women and men who worked for the U.S. Radium Corporation in Orange, N.J. In 1926, radium was a miracle cure, Madame Curie an international celebrity, and luminous watches the latest rage – until the girls who painted them began to fall ill with a mysterious disease. This powerful and engrossing drama, directed by Adele Kuyek, offers a wry, unflinching look at the American obsessions with health, wealth and the commercialization of science.
Thursday, May 22 brings Robert Harlan’s Steel Magnolias. This entry by the South Okanagan Amateur Players of Oliver is directed by Craig Bjornson. A drama/comedy, the play deftly takes us through the lives and bonds of a group of southern women who meet regularly at Truvy’s Beauty Salon. Through laughter, tears and a thick fog of hairspray, these women face trials and triumphs armed with their greatest strength: each other.
Following each production, the adjudicator gives a brief critique of the performance. People who have tickets for the previous evening’s show are welcome to attend the next morning’s two-hour ‘Coffee Critique’ when the adjudicator works with the cast and crew of the previous evening’s show while other participants look on and learn.
The festival adjudicator is Kathryn Shaw, the artistic director of the Professional Theatre Training Program at Vancouver’s Langara College from 1985 to 2020. Known in her professional career as an educator and a director for professional and community theatre companies across Canada, Shaw has taken up writing and has rekindled her acting career.
Her new play Super Seniors was produced to acclaim by Western Gold Theatre in June 2024, with Shaw playing one of the 105 year old characters.
All O’Zone performances are at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available at shuswaptheatre.com and Choose Refill in Salmon Arm’s Lakeshore Village, which is near Wendy’s.
This O’Zone Awards banquet takes place at 6 pm. Friday, May 23 at the Nexus at First United Church on Okanagan Avenue. The winner of the Best Production will perform at the Theatre BC provincial festival, Mainstage, which takes place from July 6 to 12 in Fort St. John.
