STUPID CHRISTMAS (For Jerks)
Saturday, December 6 to Sunday, December 14
The Bus Stop Theatre, 2203 Gottingen Street
Tickets at shakespearebythesea.ca
Just in case you can't tell by its name, the folks at Shakespeare by the Sea want you to know that Tom Smith's STUPID CHRISTMAS (For Jerks) is not meant as all-ages entertainment.
"The show is basically cast-offs from us sitting around creating our family shows," explains actor/co-writer Tom Gordon Smith, in a phone interview on a break from rehearsal. "Sometimes we're pretty vulgar, and some of our humour can be, shall we say, questionable. You can imagine we come up with a lot of stuff that isn't appropriate for kids.
"Well, it's ended up here."
In the background, director Jesse MacLean and co-star Jeff Schwager can be heard laughing boisterously and adding bits to Smith's answers. A woman's voice also chimes in occasionally. It belongs to stage manager Kate Redding, who Smith says provides a great gauge for what jokes will fly: "If Kate laughs, it stays."
STUPID CHRISTMAS was originally conceived as a series of funny sketches, but through a workshop process it evolved into the story of one man's quest to regain the magic of Christmas. "When we discovered a real story line specific to me, that's when I'd say the whole thing began to have heart," Smith muses.
Since the Park Place Theatre was rendered unusable for performances by a fire this summer, the show is happening at The Bus Stop Theatre from December 6 to 14. Smith acknowledges that a Christmas show by "three vulgar guys" might seem a little out there, but he guarantees that fun will be had.
http://www.shakespearebythesea.ca/
