Sum Theatre reaches beyond Saskatoon with revamped Last Sunday
Sum Theatre's The Last Sunday will return for the 2020-21 season — but in the COVID-19 era, the Saskatoon-based theatre company won't be hemmed in by city limits.
“There's so much going on in the world right now ... and The Last Sunday is set up as a platform to allow artists to then speak about what's going on in the world,” said Sum Theatre artistic associate Krystle Pederson said.
The Last Sunday is a combination of an artistic discussion and performance, giving artists a chance to connect and express opinions. As the name implies, the event takes place on the final Sunday of each month. The first one of the new season is set to take place on Oct. 25.
As Pederson describes it, the event includes a musical performance, a short play written by someone in the community, a
“ranter” who speaks on a current events topic, and a “hot seat” interview where someone is interviewed by the show runners — all reflecting the thoughts and news of the last month's current events.
“We need to work together to understand our world and what's going on in it,” artistic director Joel Berenbaum said in a statement. “The Last Sunday gives people a chance to openly discuss and digest issues of the current moment.”
During more recent months, The Last Sunday has taken place online through Zoom chats. But Sum Theatre will jump back into the Broadway Theatre on Sunday with the first hour-long event of the new season.
Regulations to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are in place at the theatre, but thanks to partnerships with other theatre companies in Prince Albert, Swift Current, The Battlefords and Regina, the new show will offer “participatory live-streaming” to get more of the province's theatre community involved.
“A lot of theatre companies put a pause on performance,” Pederson said. “Sum really wants to break that mould and see if we can find a safe way to perform.”
Inviting the audience back into a theatre space during the pandemic is “a huge ask,” according to Pederson. But she added that The Last Sunday will hopefully provide a safe space for people to start engaging in art again.
“The pandemic has scared a lot of people, but I think ... we're going to find new, fun ways that people can still enjoy theatre, and that the comfort is there,” she said.
Sunday's show will be livestreamed, and a podcast will be available online at a later date.