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[ June | July | August | September ]
June 9-26
Dartmouth Players presents The Cover of Life
It’s 1943 and a hard-hitting correspondent heads to Louisiana to discover the real story behind a seemingly picture-perfect family that has seen three of its young men sent overseas. Expect fireworks aplenty from the five women in this funny, charming and intelligent play that examines the effects of WWII on American life in general and women in particular. Dartmouth Players, 33 Crichton Avenue, $15, 465-7529, dartmouthplayers.ns.ca
June 17-July 3
Theatre Arts Guild Presents Twelve Angry Men
It’s not often that a play starts out life as a television script rather than the other way around, but that’s the case with Twelve Angry Men. In this riveting drama, a single juror manages, against all odds, to convince his jury mates to reconsider a case that appears to be open and shut. It was also made into movie in 1957 starring Henry Fonda as the hold-out juror, and in 1997 with Jack Lemmon in the same role. The Pond Playhouse, 6 Parkhill Road, $16, 477-2663, tagtheatre.com
June 30-September 12
Ship’s Company Summer Theatre
Two shows will be playing on the Ship’s Company Mainstage before Labour Day: a new play by Daniel Lillford called Fishing for Frank and The Net by New Brunswick playwright
Marcel-Roman Thériault. Fishing for Frank is an outrageous comedy about small town life, love and gossip. It stars perennial favourites Deborah Allen, Lee J. Campbell, Michael Chiasson and Mary Vingoe. Michael Chiasson takes another turn in The Net (along with Wally MacKinnon, and newcomer Douglas MacAulay), a modern tragedy about the unravelling of family ties.
18 Lower Main Street, Parrsboro, $27.50, 800-565-7469, shipscompany.com
July 2-September 5
Shakespeare by the Sea
Flexibility seems to be SBTS’s middle name. The stalwart company has faced, and surmounted, many challenges over the years and this season is no exception. With work being done on the crumbling Cambridge Battery, this summer’s productions have been moved to the Prince of Wales Martello Tower---a site which has the advantages of being a shorter walk from the parking lot and having electricity for lights. Three plays are being offered, in rotating schedules: Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar and a family-friendly (and funny) Treasure Island. Martello Tower, Point Pleasant Park, $15 suggested donation, 422-0295, shake spearebythesea.ca
July 5-October
Luncheon Theatre at the Halifax Club
The Halifax Club is serving up lunch and theatre in a style that’s being called 19th-century Gossip Girl. Laura and William Cunard will be sharing stories and music that bring historic Halifax to life. The menu is a la carte, with items starting at $9.95. There will be time to chat with your luncheon companions, as well as an optional tour of the venerable club itself. Noon-1:30pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 1682 Hollis Street, 423-8460 (ext.3), halifaxclub.ns.ca
July 7-August 28
Festival Antigonish
Love, murder and marriage all take centre stage at Festival Antigonish this summer. First up is the Mating Game, a comedy about an unlikely virgin and his desperate quest to live up to his unearned womanizing reputation. Next up is Sleuth, Anthony Shaffer’s groundbreaking detective play. Finally, there’s Maggie’s Getting Married, a romantic comedy by Canada’s most prolific playwright, Norm Foster. Check the website for more great shows on Stage 2 and the family stage. Bauer Theatre, St. Francis Xavier Theatre, Antigonish, $8-$30, 800-563-PLAY, festivalantigonish.com
July 10-August 8
Theatre Off the Grid
Two Planks and a Passion Theatre has worked magic for several seasons on the lush grounds of The Ross Creek Centre for the Arts, where they’ve presented award-winning works such as Rockbound and The Odyssey. This year they’re tackling The Crucible, Arthur Miller’s 1953 condemnation of McCarthyism through the examination of the mass hysteria in Puritan society during the Salem witch trials. Bring a cushion and bug spray and enjoy theatre staged in the great outdoors. Tuesday through Sunday, 6pm, Ross Creek Centre, 555 Ross Creek Road, Canning, $28.25, 582-3073, twoplanks.ca
July 13-August 28
Chester Playhouse Summer Festival
One of the many draws of the charming seaside village of Chester is the variety of entertainment staged in its intimate theatre. This year it will offer five plays including the time-twisting The Last Five Years, the one-woman father-daughter drama The Last Dog of War, a short run of Alan Bennett’s fabulous Talking Heads, A Midsummer Night’s Dream featuring the Chester Summer Theater School actors and Shaw’s witty Village Wooing.
22 Pleasant Street, Chester, $25, 800-363-7529,
chesterplayhouse.ca
July 15-August 22
Valley Summer Theatre
Thanks to the success of last year’s Gin Game and Love Letters, Valley Summer Theatre is back for a second season. It opens with the very popular Letters from Wingfield Farm, a one-man show directed by and starring Ron Beattie as a fish out of water in a bucolic town. The second show is The Woman in Black, a British thriller that was a hit at Festival Antigonish in 2006.
Al Whittle Theatre, 450 Main Street, Wolfville, $18-$25,
877-845-1341, valleysummertheatre.com.
August 5-15
Halifax International Busker Festival
For 11 days in August, Halifax becomes home to some of the world’s most talented street performers. You can expect everything from breakdancers to fire jugglers, with mimes and pavement artists thrown in for good measure. Organizers are expecting close to half-a-million people to take in this family friendly event, and with any luck they’ve got two weeks of sunshine on order. This year also on Spring Garden Road at Victoria Park. Halifax Waterfront, donation, buskers.ca
September 2-12
Atlantic Fringe Festival
It’s the 20th anniversary of the Atlantic Fringe Festival, and there’s plenty to celebrate. This artist-driven festival bills itself as “a low cost, low risk, theatre delivery system for art/artists/audiences,” which means it offers some pretty cool theatre for a pretty great price. The plays tend to be scheduled in venues that are close to one another (such as The Bus Stop and The Living Room or Neptune Studio and The Khyber) so if you miss one show, there’s likely to be another starting around the corner. various prices and locations, 435-4837, atlanticfringe.ca
