Matara
If your heart goes out to confined animals check out Workshop West Playwright’s Theatre world premiere of Matara.Penned by award-winning Connie Massing, Matara is inspired by the Edmonton Zoo’s real life elephant, Lucy, and the 2013 floods that threatened the Calgary Zoo.
Tracy Carroll was tapped to direct the production due to a long working relationship with Massing.
“The production gets quite biblical by the end. It’s a conversation about animals in zoos we need to face,” said Carroll.
As the play begins, floodwater is rising outside the zoo. Three characters, Karen (Elinor Holt) Matara’s handler, Romney (Patricia Zentilli), a marketing consultant helicoptered in to save the zoo’s image, and Marcel (Minister Faust), a Rwandan security guard, are thrown together in a tense situation.
“It’s going to promote a lot of conversation about the purpose of zoos. They will see the compassion of zookeepers, but others may say she (Matara) shouldn’t be in the environment. People have different ideas and they clash. This will pull out all the different points of view,” Carroll said.
Matara runs till Dec. 9 at the Backstage Theatre in the ATB Financial Arts Barns, 10330 – 84 Ave. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $10 to $27. Call 780-420-1757 or visit www.tixonthesquare.ca.
Dickens Fest
The Citadel Theatre is looking to embrace a spectacular new Christmas festival as it expands on the already successful Christmas Carol.The inaugural, indoors Dickens Fest Edmonton takes place on the Citadel Theatre’s stages and throughout its major corridors through Sunday, Dec. 2.
The festival includes a Christmas market, Christmas teas and a 19th-century long-table dinner with Christmas goose, stuffing, rum punch and traditional Victorian parlour games.
The concept was developed after two community leaders approached the Citadel about hosting a Dickens Fest similar to the immensely popular Deventer Dickens Festival in the Netherlands.
Every year Deventer transforms into a Victorian-era city populated by more than 950 characters from Dickens' fertile imagination. Market stalls, street performances and good old-fashioned Christmas spirit reign. About 130,000 visit the holiday festival.
“We’re starting small this year and if it’s popular, we’ll continue to grow it,” said Citadel Theatre executive director Chantell Ghose.
This year the three-day festivities are paired with the Citadel’s two seasonal shows, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley and A Christmas Carol.
“We’re inviting everyone to come down. Our pavilion is beautifully decorated and it’s free access. Bring the little ones and get into the Christmas spirit.”
Tickets for the tea, dinner and plays are available at www.citadeltheatre.com.
