theatre

Lunch B.H.A.G.G. performances coming this April

This month, you can catch two new online productions from the University of Manitoba’s theatre program. The first show is Antigone Now by Melissa Cooper and the second is The Theory of Everything by Prince Gomolvilas. The plays are being presented as part of the theatre program’s Lunch B.H.A.G.G. series: “short, one-act shows” that are directed by students and meant to be held during lunch hours, hence the play on the word “lunch bag.”


A modern look at an old classic

Just in time for World Theatre Day on March 27, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre has mounted Calpurnia, a provocative work written by the theatre’s own associate artistic director Audrey Dwyer. The play explores the significant issues of privilege, race and intersectionality, but is billed as a comedy — a challenging balance to maintain.


A duo of digital theatre productions

After the live production of Bad Parent by Ins Choi was cancelled, Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) is presenting a duo of digital theatre shows to run throughout the month of March and the beginning of April. The projects are available to view for free on the company’s website.




An innovative new space for community theatre

On the corner of Ellice Avenue and Sherbrook Street stands a building with a long history in entertainment, from which a new theatre company called the Gargoyle Theatre is emerging. Its inaugural play Sonja and Richard, written by Steven Ratzlaff and directed by Bill Kerr, will be presented next month.


The spectre of Shakespeare

This winter, Shakespeare in the Ruins (SIR) presents a remounted production of Shakespeare’s Will, written by Winnipeg-born playwright and two-time Governor General’s Award winner, Vern Thiessen. The play’s original run was in early 2020 during ShakespeareFest, the final iteration the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre’s Master Playwright Festival. It was filmed for the screen on the mainstage at Prairie Theatre Exchange with video direction by local filmmaker Sam Vint.


Looking forward and looking back

After a theatre drought going on nigh two years, Prairie Theatre Exchange (PTE) has opened its doors to smaller, vaccinated audiences for the world premiere of The War Being Waged, written and co-directed by Manitoban playwright Darla Contois.