Love, science, power, romance, and resilience are themes found within the upcoming season at the Persephone Theatre. There will be eight shows from September 14th, 2022 until April 30th, 2022.
The season will open with ‘Stones in his Pocket’ which came to a halt in March of 2020 when the pandemic hit the country. Created by Marie Jones, the production involves two actors who play 15 characters.
In October, Old Stock: A refugee Love Story will take the stage for a special limited engagement. Created by Hanna Moscovitch, Christian Barry, and musician Ben Caplan, this production details the story of two Jewish Romanian refugees coming to Canada in 1908.
Fast forward to November and audiences will find themselves in the 1940s being introduced to Lucy in the production of The Fiancee created by Holly Lewis.
The new year brings The Herd by Kenneth T. Williams production surrounding the birth of twin white bison. Their arrival brings an unexpected national media storm to a First Nations ranch in Saskatchewan.
The final Main Stage production of The Birds and The Bees is considered a landmark collaboration said Artistic Director Heather Cant between Persephone Theatre and the Globe Theatre in Regina.
“The Globe and Persephone do the same thing in terms of we make theatre, we have seasons, we have subscribers,” said Heather Cant, ” But historically we’ve done them in different context because the Globe has a theatre that has been done in the round while Persephone uses a presidium style venue.”
It made collaborations quite challenging in the past said Cant. The esthetic of the shows and the way the audience would experience it would be quite different. But, with the Globe theatre currently going through renovations and turning to alternative spaces to showcase their productions. Both Cant and the Artistic Director at the Globe agreed this would be an opportunity to showcases and encompass a lot of artists in Saskatchewan, showcasing talent in each city.
“It’s something we both want to take a lot of pride in,” said Cant. “Supporting local homegrown talent and a co-production allows us to do that on a provincial scale rather than just a city scale.”
The duo chose ‘The Birds and The Bees’ production specifically because both artistic directors felt the storyline would resonate with Saskatchewan audiences. Cant said it is a comedy with context surrounding farming, technology, and living in a rural environments.
“I have never seen audience laugh quite as hard as they do for this production,” said Cant, “So both of us are really excited to showcase this production once again. We also think that right now everyone could use a really good laugh.”
On the Backstage Stage, audiences can expect to see the production of Our Fathers, Sons, Lovers, and Little Brothers, written and performed by Makmbe K. Simamba, and produced by Tarragon Theatre and Black Theatre Workshop. The production will have audiences meeting Slimm, a seventeen-year-old Black boy in a hoodie suddenly finding himself in the first moments of his afterlife.
The Youth Series will include Manitoba Theatre for Young People’s production of ‘Frozen River’ by Michaela Washburn, Joelle Peters, and Carrie Costello. Audiences will be taken to nîkwatin sîpiy where Grandmother Moon tells the story of two eleven-year-olds born under the same blood moon but in different parts of the world.
The 2022/23 season closes with an introductory theatre experience for children aged three to eight with Velveteen Rabbit by Kevin del Aguila, based on the beloved book by Margery Williams.
To learn more about the season, visit http://www.persephonetheatre.org
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