Vanessa Porteous, artistic director of Alberta Theatre Projects, says she was drawn to Atwood's Penelopiad because it was a piece that would allow her to showcase acting talent. (Alberta Theatre Projects)Calgary-based Alberta Theatre Projects is mounting a new production of Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad as part of its 2010-11 season.
Meg Roe, the actress who staged the one-woman tour-de-force The Syringa Tree, and 10 Calgary actresses are to be cast in the musical play, based on Atwood's reimagining of the myth of Odysseus.
"It's going to showcase some amazing acting," ATP artistic director Vanessa Porteous said Monday at a season announcement.
"It takes on themes of collateral damage and war. It's a love story. It talks about the relationship between men and women. It's just very rich and layered and funny too."
The National Arts Centre in Ottawa staged the Canadian premiere of The Penelopiad in a co-production with the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2007.
It tells the story of Penelope, the faithful wife of the wandering warrior-king Odysseus, during her 20-year wait for his return home. Her maids, killed by Odysseus and his men on their return, are a witty chorus speaking from the underworld.
A scene from The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan. (Trudie Lee/Alberta Theatre Projects) Porteous has staged a season that features the return of The Erotic Anguish of Don Juan by the Old Trout Puppet Workshop and of Mump & Smoot, the unruly clowns from hell, in Cracked.
Old Trout Puppet Theatre is "changing the face of puppetry worldwide," Porteous said after announcing the return of the group's show, which debuted in Calgary in 2009.
Porteous said she plans to use the Martha Cohen Theatre's thrust stage to more effect throughout the season to create a more intimate experience for theatre-goers.
The season also includes the poignant true-life show The Last Dog of War, written by and starring Linda Griffiths in a show directed by another Canadian talent, Daniel MacIvor.
The play focuses a trip Griffiths took with her father to his RAF bomber squad reunion in Britain.
"In The Last Dog of War we see a grown daughter and her father struggle to find common ground," Porteous said.
ATP also is bringing Seussical The Musical as a family holiday production.
The annual Enbridge playRites Festival will offer new Canadian plays between Feb. 2 and March 6, 2011. They are:
- The Romeo Initiative by Trina Davies of Vancouver.
- Heartbreaker by Morwyn Brebner of Toronto.
- Nisei Blue by Mieko Ouchi of Edmonton.
- 300 Tapes, a mashup of memories of three men, created by Public Recordings, ATP and The Theatre Centre.
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