1979

by Michael Healey

40 years ago, Joe Clark defeated Pierre Trudeau to become Canada’s youngest Prime Minister. By Christmas it was all over. This new comedy by Canadian playwright Michael Healey offers an amusing look at Clark’s nine month stint at the head table as friends, foes and family share their advice on how the young leader should move forward while his party’s popularity dwindles at an alarming rate.

This production will run for two weeks at the Open Space Theatre before touring to Bathurst, Florenceville-Bristol, Moncton, St. Andrews, and Saint John.

PLEASE BE ADVISED: This production contains adult language and projected text.

Fredericton

October 16

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 pm PAY WHAT YOU WISH PREVIEW

October 17

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 18

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 19

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 2:00 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 19

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 20

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 2:00 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 24

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 25

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 26

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 2:00 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 26

Open Space Theatre | 55 Whiting Road | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

On Tour

October 29

Bathurst | K.C. Irving Regional Centre | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

October 30

Saint John | BMO Theatre | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

November 1

Moncton | Théâtre l'Escaouette | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

November 2

St. Andrews | W. C. O'Neill Arena Theatre | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

November 3

Florenceville-Bristol | Carleton North High School | 7:30 pm | BUY TICKETS

Directed by Natasha MacLellan

Featuring Kevin Curran, Jeff Dingle and Sarah O’Brecht.

Costume Design: Andrea Ritchie
Light Design: Ingrid Risk
Sound and Projection Design: Matt Carter
Set Design: Patricia Vinluan
Stage Manager: Kate Redding

Natasha MacLellan

Director

Natasha MacLellan has been working in New Play Development in Atlantic Canada for almost fifteen years. Her love of new scripts was fostered through Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre where she mentored with Jenny Munday and through years of working at Mulgrave Road Theatre in Guysborough, NS. From there she started Forerunner Playwrights Theatre, which produced new works in Halifax for a decade. As Artistic Producer of Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro, she has premiered eight new scripts, including Chasing Champions which will play at Canada’s National Arts Centre in November 2018. She is honored to have been twice named the protégé of nationally respected theatre artists: Jenny Munday, recipient of the inaugural Mallory Gilbert award and Mary Vingoe, recipient of the Portia White Prize. She is also secretary of the board of Theatre Nova Scotia, and serves on the PACT Board, chairing the Network & Learning Committee and is a member of the Labour relations Committee.

Kevin Curran

Actor

Kevin Curran is an award winning actor who has been working professionally for 25 years on film, television and on stage from coast to coast. He performed with the Halifax based comedy troupe, Birdy Num-Num, for a decade and has lent his voice to hundreds of commercials. Kevin is thrilled to be working at TNB for the first time and sends his love to Petrina.

Jeff Dingle

Actor

Jeff is a New Brunswick born actor currently residing in Toronto. He has been working professionally in theatre and film across Ontario and the Maritimes for some time now. Credits include Giving Up the Ghost, Book Club (Port Stanley); No Man is an Island (Atlantic Repertory Company); The Birds and the Bees (Lighthouse Theatre); Antony and Cleopatra, The Three Musketeers (St. Lawrence Shakespeare); Skylight (Troubadour Theatre); Mourning Dove (Sudbury Theatre Centre); and the TV series Man Seeking Woman (FXX Network). Jeff has four nephews, a cat named Whitney Houston, and a cool girlfriend named Torey who has a sweet astroturf carpet. They play Nintendo on it and it rocks.

Sarah O'Brecht

Actor

Sarah is thrilled to be making her TNB debut in her home province! Her theatre credits include No Man is an Island (ARC), Noises Off, Mamma Mia! (Neptune), Anne of Green Gables, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Mamma Mia! (Charlottetown), Jersey Boys, Chicago (Stage West), Johnny Belinda (Smile), and Guys and Dolls (Segal Centre). On screen, she has appeared in Adulting: Year One, Good Witch, Warehouse 13, SYTYCD Canada, and the CCMA’s. Sarah was the assistant director Lucy Maud & Anne (Smile) and Beauty and the Beast (Globe). She just wrote and starred in her first short film, Good with Her, directed by Sheila McCarthy. Sarah has her BA & BEd. from UNB. Love to Mama & the Mikes. www.sarahobrecht.com @sarahobrecht

Andrea Ritchie

Costume Designer

Andrea Ritchie is a Nova Scotian theatre artist. She’s created costumes for The Irondale Ensemble Project, One Light Theatre, Forerunner Playwright’s Co-op, Irondale Productions NYC, Hear Here Productions, Fixt Point Theatre, San Family Productions, Halifax Theatre for Young People, Zuppa Theatre, Ship’s Company Theatre, Keep Good Company Theatre and now, with Theatre New Brunswick! These works run the gamut in terms of style, time & place. Much of her work has involved collaborating on the creation of new works.

Andrea is also a collaborator and producer in theatre, a facilitator of community based projects, and since 2006 runs PAINTS, a NS wide artist-in-schools program of Visual Arts Nova Scotia.

Ingrid Risk

Lighting Designer

Ingrid splits her time between Lighting Designer and Stage Manager and has received several Theatre Nova Scotia Merritt Awards for her work. Recent credits include: The Last Wife (Neptune Theatre), Noises Off (Neptune Theatre), An Ordinary Afternoon in 1974 (Mulgrave Road Theatre), Half Cracked: The Legend of Sugar Mary (EFT/Neptune Theatre), Chasing Champions: The Sam Langford Story (National Arts Centre/Ship’s Company Theatre).

Matt Carter

Sound and Projection Design

Matt is a musician, writer and photographer based in Fredericton, New Brunswick. A passionate supporter of the performing arts, Matt takes great pride in supporting the work of New Brunswick artists through his online publication Grid City Magazine. He is an active jury member with Music NB, the East Coast Music Association and the Polaris Music Prize and spends the warmest months of the year in a kilt as a drummer with the College of Piping Pipe Band from Summerside, PEI. This is his first time designing projections for the theatre.

Patricia Vinluan

Set Designer

Patricia is a multidisciplinary artist who has worked as a stage manager, a production manager and a set designer. Some of the companies she has worked for include: Neptune Theatre, Opera Nova Scotia, 2b theatre, Villains Theatre, Eastern Front and Keep Good (Theatre) Co. She is currently the technical director of the Halifax Fringe Festival. Patricia was born and raised on the rainy west coast but has happily lived in Nova Scotia for the past 5 years.

Kate Redding

Stage Manager

Selected credits include, SM: Five seasons with Shakespeare by the Sea including The Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland, Twelfth Night, Othello, Peter Pan, Julius Caesar, Pinocchio, King Lear, I Am My Own Wife (SBTS), Five tours with Neptune Theatre including The Forest in my Room, The Happy Hobo in Moon Land (Neptune/ToD), Lullaby: Inside the Halifax Explosion (EFT/Neptune) and Head A Tete, Cottagers and Indians (Tarragon), The Donahue Sisters (LunaSea), Speed Dating for Sperm Donors (Neptune/DMV), The West Woods (MRT), Creepy and Little Manson (EFT), Where Poppies Blow, David for Queen, In This World (HTYP), Diligent River Daughter (Ship's). ASM- RED (Neptune), Woman and Scarecrow (LunaSea). Big love to the cheerleading squad!

Listen

Listen to Natasha's interview with CHSR FM host Mark Kilfoil on his program, The Lunchbox

Listen to Natasha's interview with CBC host Vanessa Vander Valk on her program, Shift