Kanata Theatre’s
first production of the New Year is a comedy/thriller by a Canadian master
of the genre.
When the Reaper Calls take us into the world of philosophy, native
mysticism and murder. Or is it murder? You are never quite sure as the
characters wend their ways through a plot that becomes increasingly
unpredictable and complex.
Peter Colley is one of Canada’s most successful playwrights. His gothic
thriller I’ll Be Back Before Midnight has been a staple of the
Canadian stage for more than 25 years. It has been produced in 25 countries,
48 of the 50 American states and all ten Canadian provinces. It has grossed
more than $10 million worldwide. In 2005 it broke all box office records for
the United Kingdom’s largest producer of touring plays.
Colley also wrote You’ll Get Used to It! The War Show, the
retrospective of the songs and events of World War II that ended Kanata
Theatre’s 2004/2005 season. His latest play The Man in the Desert
tells the story of Lawrence after Arabia. It is scheduled for production in
2007.
When the Reaper Calls opened in Germany in 2004 and since has become
a theatrical standard. In the Kanata Theatre production Gordon Walls plays
Victor, the slightly malicious prankster who unleashes the chain of events
that drives the play. Walls was Gary in last year’s Noises Off. His
stoic victim Harlan is Lee Powell who was Pops in The War Show. Dayna
MacDonald is Officer McGuire, last seen on the Kanata stage in Departures
and Arrivals several years ago.
Kanata Theatre welcomes two new faces, Nicola Day as Colleen and Lucie Roy
as Dora, the wives of Harlan and Victor who are unwillingly caught up in
happenings beyond their control.
When the Reaper Calls is directed by Helen and Martin Weeden. It runs
in the Ron Maslin Playhouse, 1 Ron Maslin Way, just off Terry Fox Drive at
Walter Baker Place, Tuesday to Saturday, January 30 to February 10. Curtain
is at 8 pm sharp. The box office number is (613) 831 4435. Tickets are $15.
-30-
|