| After major efforts by some of Canada’s top theatre artists, a new national stage celebration was launched last year with the inauguration of the Magnetic North Theatre Festival in Ottawa. Although based in the capital, Magnetic North plans to bring the festival to different Canadian cities every two years. For its first venture outside Ottawa, the festival has chosen Edmonton and recently announced the lineup of acts that will be showcased there from June 9 to 19.
There’s one ironic twist: the menu of magnetic activities will not include an Alberta production as a main course. Then again, that may only be fair – Alberta shows dominated the festival last year.
Nonetheless, planners are promising a bevy of programming drawn from across the country. There will be 11 productions running at venues throughout Edmonton, and several of the city’s venues and troupes have also partnered with the festival to promote their ongoing activities. In addition, there will be kids’ programming, panel discussions, master classes, lectures and talks featuring such renowned playwrights and directors as Judith Thompson, Tomson Highway, John Murrell and Shaw Festival head Jackie Maxwell.
If that’s not enough to make you feel like a proud Canadian, the National Arts Centre’s On the Verge Festival will bring play-development centres from across Canada to Edmonton for readings of new work.
Magnetic North’s western-region highlights include the Western Canada Theatre of Kamloops, B.C. with Highway’s latest play, Ernestine Shuswap Gets Her Trout, based on Wilfred Laurier’s visit to the Thompson River Valley in 1910. Coming from Vancouver’s NeWorld and Toronto’s Cahoots companies is The Adventures of Ali & Ali and the Axes of Evil by Marcus Youssef, Guillermo Verdecchia and Camyar Chai, which unleashes two Middle Eastern men in a theatre to seek out the alleged "weapons of mass destruction" for all of us. And the Vancouver Playhouse is bringing Morris Panych’s dark comedy Earshot (seen at Alberta Theatre Projects last season), which chronicles the agonies of a reluctant eavesdropper.
The festival’s Maritime-based fare includes Sheldon Currie’s Lauchie, Liza and Rory, a love triangle set in 1940s Cape Breton, and Robert Chafe’s Tempting Providence, another historical offering about Newfoundland super-nurse Myra Bennett.
Toronto’s gifted Kristen Thomson, lauded by critics for her I, Claudia, will be bringing her hit show to Edmonton and Montreal playwright Don Druick also steps in with Through the Eyes, a portrait of 17th-century sculptor Gianlorenzo Bernini.
The festival has so many activities planned that it will be difficult even for a theatre die-hard to attend everything. But thankfully, Albertans will be there to pour the drinks.
For the full festival lineup, go to www.magneticnorthfestival.ca |
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