A new season

Graham Abbey announces a stellar lineup for his inaugural season as Artistic Director

Last Friday, Festival Players Artistic Director Graham Abbey announced an impressive lineup for its 2018 theatre season, which will include the first two shows at the Studio Theatre in Wellington. This will be Abbey’s first season officially at the helm as Artistic Director, and he has brought together a stellar lineup that reads like a who’s who of the Canadian theatre scene.

Graham Abbey announces the upcoming season for Festival Players last Friday at the Drake Devonshire.

“I am absolutely thrilled to announce the extraordinary company of artists who will come to play with us in the County this season,” commented Abbey. “From iconic Canadian recording artists, to classical theatre and Broadway veterans, we have assembled a stellar lineup of stars from our great Canadian stages, re-imagining awardwinning Canadian scripts in a brand new studio theatre and two historic County venues.”

The 2018 season kicks off in July with a slight amendment from their original announcement. Brent Carver has had to cancel his performance with the Art of Time Ensemble at the Regent Theatre due to personal reasons. Carver also had to withdraw from the entire season at the Stratford Festival this year due to the same reasons. In his place, Abbey has found a perfectly suitable replacement. Founder of the legendary band Barenaked Ladies Steven Page will take Carver’s place and host his own version of the songbook with the Art of Time Ensemble. Look for songs by Randy Newman, Radiohead, Elvis Costello, Barenaked Ladies, Leonard Cohen and more.

In July the village of Wellington will also play host to the members of Festival Players Academy for Young Actor Training. Eleven young actors are in the program and will get the opportunity to work with acclaimed actor/director Bruce Dow, through two weeks of intensive training, culminating in two showcase performances on July 21 and 22. The Academy includes two local actresses, Kelli-Ann Maycock and Fiona Dodsworth, along with youth from Kingston, Peterborough, Toronto and Southwestern Ontario. Dow will then take the stage himself on July 26, 27 and 28 for the premiere of his new comedic, yet touching, one-man musical, A Funny Proposition.

Festival Players will then open the doors to Studio Theatre on Main Street in Wellington with a production of Michael Healey’s awardwinning drama The Drawer Boy. Directed by Abbey, the play will feature Canadian theatre veterans, Benedict Campbell (with over 25 seasons at the Stratford and Shaw Festivals) and John Dolan (Stratford Festival and four-time Dora Awards nominee) performing on the intimate stage.

Actor Bruce Dow was in attendance for the launch of the Festival Players’ season. Dow will be training lucky young actors in the Festival Players Academy.

The Studio Theatre will play a vital role in the future growth of the theatre company by broadening its scope and the ability to attract unique programming, while also providing a space for community arts activities. The Drawer Boy will run from August 1 through to August 18. Healey will also make a special appearance on Monday, August 13 for a script reading and question and answer period.

The focus will then go back to the Regent Theatre from August 22 to September 2 for a two-week run of the international smash hit play Blind Date starring Christy Bruce. The show uses someone plucked out the audience to go on a “blind date” with the main character. The show’s creator, Rebecca Northan, will grace the Regent Theatre stage for two special performances with Northan in the lead role to celebrate the 900th performance of Blind Date.

Festival Players final show of the season heads back to the new Studio Theatre in Wellington from September 4 to 23 for a production of Daniel MacIvor’s A Beautiful View. This production will be led by noted director Andrea Donaldson (Tarragon Theatre, Nightwood Theatre) and will feature Maev Beaty (multiple Dora Award-winner, Stratford, Soul Pepper) and Liisa Repo-Martelli (Gemini Award-winner, Stratford, Soul Pepper).

Tickets for this season range from $36 to $42 and can be purchased at the theatre company’s new website, which also launched this past week. Please visit festivalplayers.ca for more info on any of these shows. Abbey has put together a stellar lineup for his inaugural season and is also setting the stage to develop and nurture future talent through the Young Players Academy. His passion for the art of theatre can clearly be seen via those he chooses to include in his company. For such a small community, theatre-goers can consider themselves lucky that Graham Abbey has chosen the County as the new home for his theatrical endeavours.