Welcome to our 2022 season!
This year, to celebrate our return to the Ruins for live theatre after two seasons away, SIR will offer TWO productions playing in repertory – alternating on selected dates – between June 02 and July 02: Much Ado About Nothing, directed by SIR-founder ANN HODGES, and the solo play The Player King, a “hilarious new tragedy”, written and directed by national comedy star RON PEDERSON, and starring Rodrigo Beilfuss.
“I’m beyond thrilled for our return to live theatre this summer, and with double the joy by offering two shows,” says SIR Artistic Director Rodrigo Beilfuss. “We are celebrating our past with a classic play, Much Ado – which has much to say about today’s hysterical age of social media disruption – and looking ahead toward a new future by presenting a brand-new play alongside it, The Player King. I feel electric, and terrified in the best possible way. We can’t wait to see our audiences gathered once again under the prairie sky. It’s been too long. It’s time to heal, to be in community with each other, and to go through a shared experience in real time once more – the stuff of theatre.”
Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies, featuring two of his best quarreling lovers, Beatrice and Benedick – who passionately quibble their way into falling madly in love in a world of misinformation, fake news and dangerous lies.
In The Player King, a travelling Shakespearean actor finds himself facing an opening night audience without his company, setting off an existential crisis of tragic proportions. Can the show go on? Should it?
The Player King
Written & Directed by Ron Pederson
Designed by Joseph Abetria
Starring Rodrigo Beilfuss with original music by Cuinn Joseph
In The Player King, a travelling Shakespearean actor finds himself facing an opening night audience without his company, setting off an existential crisis of tragic proportions. Can the show go on? Should it? Compelled by the power of storytelling, the actor attempts to deliver a solo version of Hamlet, but something is deeply amiss as fantasy and reality start to blend in this celebration of theatrical obsessions, and the quest for the performance of a lifetime…even to the edge of doom. Performed by SIR’s Artistic Director Rodrigo Beilfuss, The Player King is a brand-new script written specifically for SIR by comedian-improviser, and co-creator of Mad TV, Ron Pederson. The show features original music composed by Cuinn Joseph, who will play live at the Ruins during performances.
The Player King opens June 10 and runs on selected dates through July 02.
Much Ado About Nothing
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Ann Hodges
Designed by Shauna Jones
Much Ado About Nothing is one of Shakespeare’s most delightful comedies, featuring two of his best quarreling lovers, Beatrice and Benedick–who passionately quibble their way into falling madly in love in a world of ‘fake news’, gossip and dangerous lies. In this lively romance, two plots are carefully interwoven to lead to a volcanic fourth act, where the apparent destruction of one marriage (of Claudio and Hero) helps bring about another – that of Benedick and Beatrice. Shakespeare balances the play carefully, peppering high comedy with somber layers of action that ring shockingly fresh today: much of the intrigue in the play is skillfully built on characters overhearing conversations, often laden with misinformation to trick the eavesdropper. In the chaotic age of social media, the themes of this euphoric comedy feel terrifyingly timely.
Veteran director Ann Hodges returns to the Ruins to direct. Sarah Constible and Cory Wojcik play Beatrice & Benedick; leading a cast of frequent SIR collaborators and exciting newcomers: Omar Khan, Melanie Whyte, Hera Nalam, Richie Diggs, Mallory James, Sophie Smith-Dostmohamed and Tom Keenan round out the cast.
Much Ado About Nothing opens June 02 and runs on selected dates through July 02.
Theatre for All
This season SIR has introduced a free bus charter from downtown Winnipeg to the Ruins on pay-what-you- can Tuesdays; ASL interpretation and live audio description of selected performances; relaxed performances and the launch of “Under-the-tent” shows, a pair of matinees staged under our tent for people for whom our promenade experience is a barrier.
Together with our ongoing commitment to affordable theatre through pay-what-you-can Tuesdays, our early-bird promotion, discount admission for patrons under 30 and for members of the theatre industry, under-employed folks or people living on a fixed-income, we strive to ensure everyone can experience the magic of live theatre.
