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Viewers of Arts Club’s streaming plays support Surrey Civic Theatres

Company’s ‘bubble method’ of theatre production means just 50 in-person tickets for each performance
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Ali Watson in Arts Club Theatre Company’s production of “No Child…,” which plays until Nov. 8. (photo: Moonrider Productions)

Arts Club Theatre Company won’t be touring its productions around the Lower Mainland this fall, but patrons can still support Surrey Civic Theatres by viewing the plays online.

When the referral code SURREY is used to buy digital-streaming tickets, the Arts Club will pledge $5 from each sale to the Surrey-based entertainment presenter, which in a typical year brings three of the company’s productions to Surrey Arts Centre’s main stage.

The Arts Club’s offer is valid for digital streaming purchases only, and can’t be applied to live-performance tickets. More details are posted to surrey.ca/theatre/arts-club-series.

This fall, the Arts Club’s three-show series launched Sept. 24 with six-week run of Nilaja Sun’s “No Child…,” followed by Anosh Irani’s “Buffoon” (Granville Island Stage, to Dec. 6) and Ginna Hoben’s “The Twelve Dates of Christmas” (Newmont Stage, Nov. 19 to Jan. 3).

The fall plays can be viewed online live for $29, and viewers can comment in real time with fellow audience members. Recordings can be watched for $19. Go to artsclub.com for those details.

The Arts Club’s current “bubble method” of theatre production means just 50 in-person tickets are available for each performance, in line with B.C.’s COVID-19 rules.

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“Buffoon” follows the story of a seven-year-old boy born to circus folk who prefer trapezing over parenting.

The play “certainly has humour running through it, but there is also a sophistication to its language, images, and ideas that articulates a deep current of longing and need,” said Ashlie Corcoran, the Arts Club’s White Rock-raised artistic director. “To me, that is what is most attractive about this piece. Led by Lois Anderson’s astonishing direction, Kayvon Khoshkam and Andrew McNee are sure to present brilliant and unique performances in the role of Felix.”

Each actor in the Arts Club’s “solo” shows will do seven performances per week and then trade off. More than 30 freelance artists have been hired to create the shows.

The production of “The Twelve Dates of Christmas,” billed as “a witty and heartwarming play,” will feature actors Genevieve Fleming and Melissa Oei as Mary, in alternating performances.

“Just a month after seeing her fiancé kiss another woman on national TV, Mary is ready to re-enter the dating world,” says an event advisory. “Going on dates that range from comical to bad to comically bad, Mary grows increasingly pessimistic — until she meets someone who changes her outlook on life. This charming one-woman play puts a ‘Sex and the City’ spin on the holiday season.”

It’s not your typical Christmas rom-com story, says director Barbara Tomasic.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s hilarious, but while you’re laughing, you’re following Mary on her journey of learning about herself,” Tomasic notes. “It’s a joy to watch an actor, especially ones as skilled as Genevieve and Melissa, take on a one-woman show and play all the crazy characters that appear in the story.”



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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