Next week youth theatre comes full throttle. Two of Edmonton’s most reputable children’s theatre troupes are opening a new show. And both have a knack for addressing plays that are timely and sensitive to issues relevant to youth.
Promise Productions opens with Birdie on The Wrong Bus on Tuesday, Jan. 20 for a five-day run at C103, formerly Catalyst Theatre.
Directed by Ellen Chorley, Birdie relates the story of nine-year-old Birdie who receives a 52 per cent mark on an essay titled Why I Love Edmonton. It is more of a report than opinion and is marked down.
Angry with her teacher, she mistakenly jumps on the wrong bus and lives out a wild adventure.
“She’s afraid to talk to the bus driver and thinks the bus will take her back. Only it doesn’t,” said director-playwright Ellen Chorley.
Birdie travels to a variety of Edmonton locales such as The End of the World, a little known spot on Belgravia with a road that crumbles into the ravine, the 118th Avenue aluminum bat and the Alexander Circle in Garneau.
“She gets to be a tourist and sees the city through the eyes of the people and she gets to learn all its secret facts.”
Mari Chartier stars as Birdie with Ben Stevens and Lona Michelle Hughes addressing the other 14-odd characters.
Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for youth and seniors. Call 780-420-1757 or online at tixonthesquare.ca.
Concrete Theatre is off to great start with The Antyssey playing at the Westbury Theatre from Jan. 22 to 24 for six public performances.
The Antyssey follows Oscar, a young ant dedicated to working for the black ant colony. When Oscar discovers he is actually a yellow ant, he questions his identity and leaves his wonderful colony on a journey of self-discovery.
In a bold move, Andrea, his feisty classmate, who fights the expectations of becoming a Queen, joins him. In their odyssey, the duo travels to a foreign part of the forest and face insects they never knew existed including the mysterious and wise Tiresias Caterpillar.
This short production is written by Joel Chrichton and Richard Lee and is directed by Mieko Ouchi. The cast features Nadien Chu, Oscar Derkx and Jesse Gervais.
Tickets range from $16 to $19. Call 780-409-1910 or online at fringetheatreadventures.ca. The Westbury is located at 10330 – 84 Ave.
