The ECHO Players has announced its 2016/17 season with four productions to please all audiences.
The season will open in October with the comedy The Cocktail Hour by A.R. Gurney.
Directed by Jeanne Atkinson, the play follows John, an aspiring playwright in the 1970s as he goes home to New York to seek his family’s blessing he’s written based on their lives. John’s parents and his sister have quite a different view of themselves and a lively discussion ensues during the family’s customary cocktail hour.
The Cocktail Hour runs from Oct. 13 to 30 at the Village Theatre (110 West Second Ave., Qualicum Beach).
In December, director and writer Julian Packer will present Dick Whittington.
Dick Whittington is a traditional pantomime, telling the story of a young man who sets out to make his fame and fortune in London. Whittington finds that rather than being paved with gold, the streets are plagued with rats. With the help of a a few acquaintances, Whittington challenges the evil Queen Rat.
With audience participation, Dick Whittington is a family show full of popular songs, bad jokes and slapstick humour.
Dick Whittington is on from Dec. 14 to 31 at the Village Theatre.
There are auditions for Dick Whittington this afternoon at 2 p.m. or June 29 at 7 p.m. at ECHO’s Hilliers location (Unit 6 - 3125 Van Horne Rd. off Highway 4).
In the new year, Daniel MacIvor’s Marion Bridge will hit the Village Theatre stage.
Directed by Wendy Punter, Marion Bridge tells the tale of three sisters; Agnes, Theresa and Louise as they get thrown into their childhood home in Cape Breton to be with their dying mother. Slowly, they begin to unearth buried memories of their childhood, parents and previous events.
Marion Bridge will run from Feb. 16 to March 5, 2017.
There are auditions on Aug. 27 at 1 p.m. and Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. at the Village Theatre.
Finally, Mari Lyn Kelly will direct the comic opera The Pirates of Penzance by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan.
Adapted to fit the region, the pirates of Penzance land on Vancouver Island, finding themselves lost. One of the pirates wanders away from his group, ending up in Qualicum Beach. This comic opera has star-crossed lovers, pirates and mistaken identity.
The Pirates of Penzance runs from April to May 14, 2017 at the Village Theatre.
There are auditions Sept. 18 at 2 p.m. and Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Village Theatre.
For more information, visit www.echoplayers.ca or contact Alistair McVey at 250-752-1980 or jamcvey@telus.net.
—NEWS Staff