From Habitat
Throughout the course of their four official seasons and one slapdash, show-at-a-time season, Downstage’s loquacious artistic producer Simon Mallet and his band of vagabonds have developed a reputation for their unwavering commitment to producing socially aware theatre. By mandate, the three mainstage shows that Mallet and company produce each year must focus on some kind of social malady, and while this approach has alienated some, those it has attracted tend to be quite vocal in their support. While this year certainly won't disappoint Downstage adherents, the company's ever-increasing maturity may also pique the interest of those who would otherwise steer clear of Mallet's usual buffet of “important issues.”
“Certainly, as we continue to grow, we're able to attract a cast and crew of higher and higher quality,” says Mallet. “Of course, there are funding agencies that are excited about this kind of work as well, and that's why we've also had success from that standpoint.”
Downstage's three mainstage shows this season will begin with an as yet untitled performance from the Dog From the Machine performance group that follows a public transit bus ride through derelict and affluent neighbourhoods, and examines the social and geographic boundaries that exist between the two.
Their second show is the most notable. In February, Downstage will be mounting the western Canadian première of award-winning playwright Judith Thompson's Palace of the End. Sweeping eastern Canadian and American awards, Palace of the End consists of three monologues from three important Iraq war media figures. Co-directing alongside Mallet will be Sharon Pollock, who needs no introduction, as well as Sage Theatre’s estimable Kelly Reay.
“Realistically, we're a really small company to be doing Palace of the End,” says Mallet. “The show's been produced off-Broadway, and [Thompson's] agent was reluctant at first. But Judith was excited enough by our approach to the script that she told her agent that Downstage was the company she wanted to do the western Canadian première.”
Though Palace of the End is easily the highest profile show of Downstage’s new season, their third show, The Piper, is easily the biggest. A fantasy-musical written by Colleen Murphy, The Piper takes place in a self-determining society where there's a rat population that does all of the menial work in exchange for scraps. There are more than 20 roles in the show, and due to the cumbersome size, Downstage will be co-producing it with Hit & Myth.
“It's a musical satire that will be fun but also socially engaging,” says Mallet. “There are some parallels between [Murphy's world] and some cultures in Alberta.”
