| The Boy’s Own Jedi Handbook is the fifth consecutive family show to be presented by Alberta Theatre Projects during the holiday season and, if the box-office trend continues, we’ll be seeing more of the same for seasons to come.
At ATP’s recent annual general meeting, the company revealed that last year’s family play, Who Has Seen the Wind, had a total attendance of more than 12,700. In comparison, the best-attended of its adult plays last season, Proof, drew half that many people. The figures were similar the season before, when The Hobbit lured an all-ages audience of close to 16,000 to the Martha Cohen Theatre.
After years of leaving the family market untapped during the Christmas season, the theatre known for staging provocative adult fare has swallowed its pride and jumped in alongside Theatre Calgary’s Christmas Carol and Alberta Ballet’s Nutcracker, with similar success. And who can blame it? ATP still gets full credit for doing important contemporary – and especially contemporary Canadian – plays, but that alone obviously won’t keep the company afloat these days. Witness the witty, warm-blooded Zadie’s Shoes, the hit Canadian comedy that’s still being produced across the country. Despite receiving a highly enjoyable production at ATP last season, it attracted only 5,229 patrons.
ATP artistic director Bob White doesn’t hide his disappointment that new Canadian works like Zadie’s and Earshot – the most poorly-attended of last year’s main-season shows – aren’t getting bigger audiences. But he doesn’t apologize for the family entertainment, either. "I feel no shame in doing that kind of theatre," he says.
Nor should he. The holiday plays he’s chosen for ATP so far have all been written by talented Canadian playwrights, and two – Anne (based on Anne of Green Gables) and Who Has Seen the Wind – are Canadian classics. As for Jedi, while it will no doubt sell a lot of tickets based on its Star Wars connection, it’s a delightful play worthy of a wide audience.
If this is how ATP has to pay the bills and keep up its valuable play development work, there are worse compromises.
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