A Christmas Carol; Parfumerie; Kim’s Convenience; Alligator Pie; & Tricks from David Ben
Albert Schultz, Founding Artistic Director of Soulpepper Theatre Company, have announced that the second annual Soulpepper Family Festival is to take place this December and January. Building on last year’s success, this year’s festival will expand to include an additional venue, with five productions in total and two days of free family Winter Waves programming. The Festival’s stage lineup includes two-holiday classics, Michael Shamata’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Adam Pettle and Brenda Robins’ adaptation of Miklós László’s Parfumerie. The Family Festival also includes: the return of Ins Choi’s hit play Kim’s Convenience; Soulpepper’s musical adaptation of Dennis Lee’s beloved book of poetry, Alligator Pie; and Tricks from master magician David Ben. New this year, Parfumerie and Kim’s Convenience will be staged at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Performing Arts in the Bluma Appel Theatre allowing larger audiences to enjoy these two Soulpepper favourites.
“Our seasonal family programming continues to be one of the hottest tickets in town,” said Schultz. “Shows likeKim’s Convenience and Parfumerie have sold out quickly in past years and Soulpepper programming in the Young Centre is bursting at the seams. Performing at the Bluma Appel Theatre is a great opportunity for more families to enjoy two of our award-winning plays. The whole Family Festival, with the return of Alligator Pie andA Christmas Carol, and the addition of David Ben’s Tricks, is a celebration of the wonder and magic of the theatre, perfect for audiences young and old.”
On January 2 and 3, 2016, Winter Waves, a series of free family programming, will take place throughout the Young Centre including music, theatre and interactive experiences, details to be announced.
Visit soulpepper.ca or call 416.866.8666 for tickets and more information. Tickets for new winter programming, including special Family Festival ticket packages, are on sale now for Soulpepper subscribers, with the general on sale commencing this Friday, September 4 at 11 a.m. Tickets for previously announced fall productions are available now.
SOULPEPPER FAMILY FESTIVAL
December 3, 2015 to January 3, 2015
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens
Adapted by Michael Shamata
Recommended for ages 8+
Bah, humbug! Soulpepper’s beloved production of Michael Shamata’s A Christmas Carol has become a Toronto holiday tradition. Follow Ebenezer Scrooge as he is visited by three ghosts who help him understand the importance of charity in the holiday season.
A Christmas Carol runs from December 3, 2015 to January 3, 2016. Opening night is December 9.
Alligator Pie
Created & Directed by Ins Choi, Raquel Duffy, Ken MacKenzie, Gregory Prest & Mike Ross
Poems by Dennis Lee
Recommended for ages 3+
Alligator Pie, an original Soulpepper production and Dora Award-winner for Outstanding Ensemble (Theatre for Young Audiences) brings the celebrated children’s poems of Canada’s Father Goose, Dennis Lee, to vibrant theatrical life. Music, invention and Lee’s delicious imagination come together in a perfect family play.
Alligator Pie runs from December 16, 2015 to January 3, 2016. Opening night is December 17.
Tricks
Magicana in association with Soulpepper
David Ben and Patrick Watson
Directed by David Ben
Recommended for ages 8+
Shamans, ravens, jesters, jugglers, conjurors, and magicians come in all shapes and sizes. In Tricks, David Ben – Soulpepper’s resident trickster – presents a concert of magic inspired by an eclectic range of people and events: Frank Sinatra and Telford Fenton; Glenn Gould and Charles Bertram; Harold Lloyd and Harry Houdini; Tom Waits and Erik Satie; Hammer Studio Films and Southern Baptist preachers; and Dai Vernon and cherry blossoms in Japan. Ben, recognized as one of the top, sleight-of-hand artists in the world, will showcase some of the most challenging pieces of magic in Tricks. There is no timeline or plot – just great tricks – comical and mysterious, beautiful and visceral – performed with twists and turns.
Tricks runs from December 5 to January 3, 2016. Opening performance is December 12.
Kim’s Convenience
Ins Choi
Directed by Weyni Mengesha
Recommended for ages 12+ (Mature Language)
After a whirlwind national tour and a TV deal with CBC, Kim’s Convenience returns once more to Toronto. Soulpepper Academy alumnus Ins Choi’s hilarious and touching debut play set in a Regent Park convenience store has resonated with audiences across the country. The journey of a fractured but loving family confronting the future and forgiving the past is a Canadian classic in the making.
Kim’s Convenience runs from December 6 to December 26 at the Bluma Appel Theatre. Opening night is December 8.
Parfumerie
Miklós László
Adapted by Adam Pettle and Brenda Robins
Directed by Morris Panych
Recommended for ages 8+
One of Soulpepper’s holiday classics returns for the 2015 Family Festival. In Parfumerie, the basis for both The Shop Around the Corner and You’ve Got Mail, two shop clerks kindle a tender love affair through anonymous letters while they unwittingly squabble with one another in person.
Parfumerie runs from December 10 to December 27 at the Bluma Appel Theatre. Opening night is December 12.
Tickets to Soulpepper productions at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, and Family Festival shows at the Bluma Appel Theatre, are available by calling the Young Centre Box Office at 416.866.8666 or by visitingsoulpepper.ca.
Family Festival Ticket Prices: Alligator Pie tickets are $35 and $45/StagePlay, Rush and Arts Worker are $20;Tricks tickets range from $69 to $25/StagePlay, Rush, Arts Worker $20; 4-Ticket Family Packages start at $91.50 (based on Section C seating).
Tickets for additional Family Festival Soulpepper productions range from $89 to $29.50. For Main Stage productions, $24 tickets are available for Arts Workers and $24 tickets are available for 21-30 year-olds at stageplay.ca. StagePlay is sponsored by TD Bank Group. The $24 Rush Ticket / $5 Youth Rush program is sponsored by Sun Life Financial. Ticket prices include a Young Centre facility fee, service charge and HST. Pricing is subject to change. Call 416.866.8666 for more details.
Located in its multi-venue home, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto’s Distillery Historic District, Soulpepper is Toronto’s largest theatre company. Founded and guided by artists, under the leadership of Artistic Director Albert Schultz and Executive Director Leslie Lester, Soulpepper has an integrated mission which includes: industry-leading youth outreach initiatives; the Soulpepper Academy, Canada’s only multi-year paid professional training program for theatre artists of all disciplines; and a year-round diverse repertory season which is grounded in the classics and committed to the creation of new works, new forms, and innovative practices.