A Cape Breton story
Coming to a stage near you ... “The Company Store.”
SYDNEY — A Cape Breton story from an island author will take centre stage at the Boardmore Playhouse, beginning tonight.
Set in postwar industrial Cape Breton, “The Company Store” is written by Halifax playwright Mary Vingoe, but based on a novel by celebrated author Sheldon Currie, a native of Reserve Mines. The play tells the story of Ian MacDonald, who comes home to put his past in order.
“What most attracted me to the play were the relationships with the characters in the play, and that it was a play about young people, specifically Ian, who’s the main character, a teenager growing up in a mining community that he just didn’t fit into,” said director Todd Hiscock. “His story (is one) of growing up and trying to find his way through this life of his, at his age, dreaming about things beyond his local community. He was a writer, he read a lot, so he was not your typical mining town kid, so that attracted me to the story.”
Hiscock, who is also artistic director at Cape Breton University’s Boardmore Playhouse, said the fact that “The Company Store” was a local story that explored the island’s history also made the play stand out when he was selecting what would be presented during the 2012-2013 season at the theatre.
“In this case I was particularly interested in staging a play by an Atlantic Canadian playwright, so I looked to the Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre for a listing of plays,” he said. “‘ The Company Store’ is an obvious choice because of its local content, but also because it is a very well written play.”
Bringing the story to life will be a 12-member cast featuring a mix of veteran performers and newcomers to the stage. Michael Gale has the lead role in “The Company Store,” which also stars Bonnie MacLeod, Matthew Campbell, Bhreagh MacNeil, Matthew Boyd, Stephanie Higgins and Bob Lewandowski.
“The Company Store” premieres tonight at 7 p.m. with a pay-what-you-can performance for local audiences. The play’s run continues Friday and Saturday night, and Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, all at 7 p.m. The final staging of the play will be a matinee affair, Dec. 2 at 2 p.m.
General admission is $ 12, while tickets for students and seniors are $8, and CBU students are admitted for $6. The playhouse box office will be open this week and next from 1- 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, and one hour before showtime.
The play will also be presented to local students during morning performances throughout next week.
Currie and Vingoe are expected to attend a staging of the play during its run.
For more information on the Boardmore Playhouse and its 42nd season of plays go to www.cbu.ca/boardmore.