We are delighted to announce our 2021 Festival Season! This, our 39th season, will feature two irresistible shows playing all summer long, from Canada Day till Labour Day.
Our season begins with Off The Grid, the first Atlantic Canadian production of Fredericton playwright John Spurway. Since his play Between Friends debuted at Lighthouse Festival Theatre in Ontario in 2008, Spurway’s works have been staged a number of times in Canada and the US, but until now, not in Atlantic Canada.
The play features Marty, an architect anxious to learn more about self-sufficient houses so she can write a magazine article about living “off the grid”. Her husband Leonard is a loans officer who has reluctantly agreed to spend a week without his creature comforts while Marty writes her article and they celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. While Leonard adjusts to life without TV, the internet, or a flush toilet, Marty gets some guidance from Lowell, their reclusive next-door neighbour, who has been living out in the middle of nowhere for two years. But Leonard is wary of this unusual recluse. It seems like Lowell might be hiding something… but he’s not the only one keeping secrets!
Off The Grid will be directed by Mark Fraser and features Melissa Kramer, who starred in the Playhouse production of Dancing Lessons in 2018; Lee J. Campbell, who patrons may recognize from our 2017 production of On A First Name Basis; and Jim Fowler, a Nova Scotia resident and veteran of stage and screen.
Off The Grid will preview on July 1st and 2nd and open on July 3rd.
Next up, we are thrilled to present Farmgate Theatre’s original production The Good Time Radio Variety Show!
The Playhouse will be transformed into the sound stage of Island Radio Station CRPO for the weekly broadcast of The Good Time Radio Variety Show. A modern take on the classic radio variety show complete with music, mystery, comedy, adventure, and thrilling sound effects all performed live in front of a studio audience. It’s always a good time for a good time!
The all-star cast includes nationally recognized performers who all make PEI their home. Actors Julain Molnar and Cameron MacDuffee are regulars at the Charlottetown Festival and musicians Karen Graves and Adam Hill are members of the award-winning Atlantic String Machine. Director Charlotte Gowdy’s credits include the Stratford Festival, PEI’s Watermark Theatre and two previous shows for the Victoria Playhouse.
The Good Time Radio Variety Show will preview on July 9th and open on July 10th.