A little spring before the sleep

Autumn theatre is rich in colour

Colleen Sutton and John Koensgen in Noises Off

So the days and nights cool down imperceptibly hour by hour as the great driving engine of summer slows down into fall. It’s a good season for Canadians. We understand this season. It’s one of work, one of activity, one of preparation for a coming winter of stillness and beauty. Autumn in the capital also brings with it a feverish renewal in local theatre, as companies start their 2009-10 seasons – a little spring before the sleep.

The Gladstone Theatre begins its latest season with local director John Kelly staging Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, starting Sept. 3. According to the Gladstone marquee, it is “the funniest farce ever written.” I’m not sure how objective a critic the sign is, though. They follow that with The Final Twist from director John Koensgen, starting Oct. 29.

Third Wall Theatre, though struck a glancing shot by the unfortunate economic downturn and forced to reduce this season’s number of shows, is beginning its season with another challenging classic of modern theatre. Harold Pinter’s Old Times begins Sept. 22.

The year 2010 will mark Vision Theatre’s 10th year of existence, which is a thoroughly wonderful accomplishment for artistic director Sam Awwad. He opens this season with Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman, starting Sept. 24. It’s reputed to be an intense, thought-provoking work from the master playwright who wrote The Lieutenant of Inishmore and, curiously enough, the movie In Bruges.

Evolution Theatre presents Arabian Nights, from talented local director Natalie Joy Quesnel. From all accounts this is a sensational German play, and its premiere here in Ottawa is definitely a show I’m looking forward to. It goes up Oct. 14 at the Cube Gallery.

The Great Canadian Theatre Company begins this 2009-10 season with The Syringa Tree on Sept. 15. It’s a one-woman show that tells a difficult story of life in apartheid-era South Africa. The promotional material for the play features praise from none other than Oprah Winfrey herself; I try diligently to forget that she also recommends Dr. Phil when I read it. Lise Ann Johnson directs this Pamela Gien piece. The GCTC follows this on Nov. 3 with Hannah Moscovitch’s The Children’s Republic, directed by Janet Irwin.

Finally, the National Arts Centre continues its absolutely incredible work with another amazing lineup of theatre. English theatre begins with the celebrated and storied Canadian musical The Drowsy Chaperone (Oct. 14), and French theatre begins with Wajdi Mouawad’s searing and passionate Littoral (Sept. 15).

As appeared in the Ottawa XPress – Sept. 3, 2009
http://www.ottawaxpress.ca/stage/stage.aspx?iIDArticle=18206