If you book a seat for one of the performances during Gateway Theatre’s 2016-2017 season, prepare to be more than just entertained — get ready to give the subject matters a hard think, too.
It’s a concept referred to in the theatre’s current tag line — More than Entertainment.
Jovanni Sy, Gateway’s artistic director, told the Richmond News that, while all six of productions between mid-October and mid-April are enjoyable, they all have, “something to say or ask about our place in the world today.”
“They are all relevant plays because they ask, ‘what is our place in society? How are we connected to one another, both locally and globally?’” Sy said.
“What’s our responsibilities to one another and the planet. And it’s being done in ways that are not preachy or dry.”
A prime example is the final production on Gateway’s calendar, called The Watershed, which runs April 6–15 and stars Eric Peterson, who appeared in the TV comedy Corner Gas and drama Street Legal.
“What makes this play so special is that it talks about a very topical issue — water as a resource,” Sy said, adding the information is gleaned from scientists, activists, politicians and everyday people and serves as a good example of the interconnected world we live in.
While that may sound like a heavy subject, Sy said the approach revolves around a family’s cross-Canada trip to interview people on the topic.
“It’s sort of a play-within-a-play, where you see the relationship of the family as they travel in a camper van,” Sy said, adding what makes it special, in addition to Peterson’s star power, is its complex staging. “It’s one of the most stunning shows I’ve seen in terms of how it tell stories with 40-plus characters played by eight actors. It’s theatre magic.”
That “magic” Sy referred to is also present at the outset of Gateway’s new season, he said, in King of Yees, which runs Oct. 13 – 22.
It’s a father-daughter relationship tale set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown.
“We have plenty of theatre magic — people appearing and disappearing, others flying in. It becomes this quite fantastic Alice in Wonderland kind of story,” he said.
Sy knows this well as he takes on the role of the father, Larry, who one day goes missing and his daughter, Lauren, heads out in search of him.
Long Division is the next offering from Gateway, which runs Nov. 17 -26 in the theatre’s Studio B.
“It’s really fascinating,” Sy said. “It talks about an incident at a school that leads to a chain reaction and a tragic circumstance.”
The entire production is deconstructed using math and multimedia images, and again enforces the theme of interconnectedness.
“There’s a lot of movement and imagery, as well,” Sy said, “and it talks about people’s relationships with each other through the metaphor of mathematics.”
For the most popular part of Gateway’s calendar — the lead up to Christmas and New Year — the theatre offers up the classic The Music Man.
“Everyone knows the Robert Preston film where he plays Harold Hill, the charming conman who comes to Iowa at the turn of the century and tries to swindle the very good, simple folk of River City to start a marching band to organize the local youth, even though he knows nothing about music,” Sy said.
Each year, Sy said one of his favourite tasks is choosing the holiday show, which runs Dec. 8 - 31.
“It’s become such a great tradition to bring families here and enjoy classic stories,” Sy said.
Kicking off the new year (Feb. 2 - 11) is the English adaptation of You Will Remember Me, a compelling story written by Quebec playwright François Archambault, which follows an aging intellectual, beset with dementia, whose family splinters in their efforts to support him.
“What the play investigates, with a lot of bittersweet humour, is the nature of memory and identity,” Sy said.
“So, if we can’t remember who we are, both as people and as societies, what is our identity, then?”
For more information about the new Gateway Theatre season, visit online at GatewayTheatre.com.
