For thousands of Ottawa residents, no summer calendar is complete without a Classic Theatre Festival visit. That journey is easier with the Festival’s highly anticipated August re-launch at Arts Court Theatre (2 Daly Ave.) following a decade in Perth.
This award-winning professional company hosts some of Canada’s top theatrical talent performing timeless hits from Broadway and the London stage. The company’s board approved a move to Ottawa as the Festival emerged from two years of shutdown.
The Festival will stage a Tony Award winner for Best Play 8 times weekly from August 5-28, Jan de Hartog’s The Fourposter. It’s a comedic chronicle of a marriage during an era of world-shaking social changes. It follows a couple through 35 years of marriage, from nervous wedding night, childbirth and parenting, to mid-life crisis, empty nesting and realities of aging. Artistic Producer Laurel Smith says it’s “a tender and incredibly funny exploration of something which represents the foundation for so many adult lives.”
Photo: Jean-Denis Labelle
The Festival’s “Summer Theatre in the Capital” experience recreates the milieu that made it a popular Perth destination. An entertaining, informative Pre-Show Talk at the half hour situates audiences in the play’s period, exploring social and cultural references not familiar to everyone. The lobby hosts a loonie-toonie book sale boasting rare finds. Sale proceeds fund the Festival’s Save-a-Seat program, which partners with social service agencies to provide free tickets to low-income community members, allowing them to attend the theatre in dignity.
Arts Court Theatre is accessible, air conditioned, and will feature newly installed True HEPA air cleaners. All staff and volunteers are vaccinated and masked, and audience members will require masks to enter the theatre to create the safest possible space for the most vulnerable: the elderly, immune-compromised, and others vulnerable to the pandemic.
The Fourposter runs Wed. to Sun at 1:30 pm, and Wed., Thurs. and Sat. at 7:30 pm.
Lowertown Echo readers enjoy a 10% discount on ticket purchases when ordering by phone and mentioning this article.
To order visit classictheatre.ca or call (613) 695-9330.
(CUTLINE: Alison Smyth and Scott Clarkson in the Festival’s production of the thriller Wait Until Dark: Photo: Jean-Denis Labelle)