Image credit Andreah Barker

2017/2018 Season

This is your advance notice: diverse women are taking the stage.

Ruby Slippers Theatre puts diverse female talent centre stage all season long through Canadian plays that are compelling, evocative, engaging and hilarious. For the past 28 years, Ruby Slippers Theatre has created, produced and presented provocative text-based theatre from the vanguard of the English and French Canadian canon, illuminating diverse perspectives and social issues. In 2017, Artistic Director Diane Brown was honoured with the Bra d’Or Award by the Women’s Caucus of Playwrights Guild of Canada for her work advancing Canadian women playwrights, in particular the creation of Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women.

Advance Theatre: New Works by Diverse Women

Ruby Slippers Theatre in partnership with the Vancouver Fringe Festival and Playwrights Guild of Canada present Advance Theatre: New Works By Diverse Women, September 11-15 during the Vancouver Fringe Festival.

Admission by donation (suggested $5 – $10).

Five new plays by female-identifying playwrights will receive public readings in an exciting collaboration between some of Vancouver’s finest theatre artists. Advance Theatre debuted at the 2015 Fringe Festival to great success and standing room-only houses. According to a national study, women account for less than a third of artistic directors, working directors, and produced playwrights in professional Canadian theatre. Advance Theatre was created in direct response to this, providing more opportunities and profile to diverse women playwrights and directors.

Curated by Ruby Slippers Theatre with priority given to diversity of all kinds (age, cultural background, sexual orientation, physical and mental ability), the plays include:

Marcia Johnson

Jumping Ship – Monday, September 11
Written by Marcia Johnson, directed by Marisa Emma Smith

The year is 1904. Scottish sailor, Jamey Dunbar, meets young entrepreneur, Audrey Williams on a beach in Jamaica. Their lives change forever. This is a love story inspired by the playwright’s great-grandparents.Go, No, Go – Tuesday, September 12
Written by Natalie Frijia, directed by Leanna Brodie

Go, No, Go is the story of 13 barrier-breaking pilots who in 1961 petitioned NASA to become the first female astronauts. And it’s about why you don’t know their names. Welcome to the space race.

Lillian Nakamura Maguire

Hidden Memories – Wednesday, September 13
Written by Lillian Nakamura Maguire, directed by Donna Yamamoto.

The daughter of Japanese immigrants sifts through her parents’ memorabilia, piecing together their early B.C life and forced relocation. She tries to find peace with her parents’ choices during times of racial discrimination, her own identity and what she passes on to her daughter. National Association of Japanese Canadians Endowment Fund support.

Sex, Drugs and Age: The Last Taboo – Thursday, September 14
Written by Colleen Ann Fee, directed by Tammy Bentz.

Age is our last social taboo, we fight its effects. In 2010, sales of Viagra reached $2 trillion, and every 57 seconds a new case of dementia is diagnosed. Our libido may outlive our ability to grant sexual consent. Sex, Drugs and Age: The Last Taboo considers the hazards of determining consent in the context of dementia and drugs.

Pamela Mala Sinha

Happy Place – Friday, September 15
Written by Pamela Mala Sinha, directed by Fay Nass

“Broken women determined to die helping each other live.” Happy Place takes place in an inpatient care facility for women suffering from depression. With insight, raw truth and sometimes humour, these seven women force each other to look at
themselves in a way they never could “outside”- finding compassion, even love, where they least expect it.

The readings will take place at the gym in the False Creek Community Centre, 1318 Cartwright Street, at 1:30 pm sharp by donation at the door. There will be free talk-backs after the readings.

MAINSTAGE EVENTS:

Diane Brown, Nicola Cavendish, Sereana Malani, Adele Noronha, Laara Sadiq, Colleen Wheeler, Donna Yamamoto. Photo credit: Riun Garner

Happy Place
Produced by Touchstone Theatre in association with Ruby Slippers Theatre and Diwali in BC. Western Canadian Premiere.

Preview October 19th, Shows October 20-29, 2017 at The Firehall Arts Centre, 280 E Cordova St, Vancouver, BC

Tickets.firehallartscentre.ca 604 689 0926.

Written by Pamela Mala Sinha / Directed by Roy Surette / Starring Diane Brown, Nicola Cavendish, Sereana Malani, Adele Noronha, Laara Sadiq, Colleen Wheeler and Donna Yamamoto / Set Design by Pam Johnson / Costume Design by Christine Reimer / Lighting Design by Adrian Muir / Original Music & Sound Design by Dorothy Dittrich

Happy Place takes us into the experiences of seven women: inpatients, living together in the most extraordinary circumstances. Though each woman must navigate her own survival in a world that challenges that possibility, they are also the ones who teach one another how to live in a way no therapist ever could. Happy Place is a glimpse into lives filled with courage, compassion, humour and startling surprises; lives which – in many ways – are not so different from our own. Happy Place premiered in September 2015 at Toronto’s Soulpepper Theatre.

Photo of Meghan Gardiner by David Cooper.

I Lost My Husband

English translation commissioned by Ruby Slippers Theatre. World Premiere.

March 15-24, 2018 at the Gateway Theatre, Studio B, 6500 Gilbert Road, Richmond, BC
Tickets.Gatewaytheatre.com; 604 270 1812.

Written by Catherine Leger, Translated by Leanna Brodie / Directed by Diane Brown

Featuring Meghan Gardiner, Agnes Tong, Curtis Tweedie and Raugi Yu.

Evelyn loses her husband in a bar bet. The thing is, she’s not entirely sure she wants him back. A smart, feisty, subversive comedy about the important things in life: love, freedom, karaoke … and never letting frozen yogurt stand in the way of your dreams. Catherine Léger’s comedy J’ai perdu mon mari was a hit in Quebec and Ruby Slippers is proud to present the World Premiere of Leanna Brodie’s translation, I Lost My Husband.

Ruby Slippers Theatre gratefully acknowledges our season sponsors and cultural collaborators:

ADVANCE THEATRE: New Works by Diverse Women 2016 Plays Announced

June 9, 2016:  Ruby Slippers Theatre, in partnership with the Vancouver Fringe Festival and Equity in Theatre,is pleased to announce the plays selected for the 2016 Advance Theatre: New Works by Women program, which will be presented September 12-16 during the Vancouver Fringe Festival. The committee read over 100 plays submitted from across Canada before selecting five new plays by female-identifying playwrights. Priority in curating the scripts is diversity of all kinds (age, cultural background, sexual orientation, physical ability).

• • Aiming to Float by Janet Hinton, directed by Laura McLean. At a pain clinic, a new and uncooperative patient clashes with her exercise therapist. Faced with crises of physical and emotional pain, together they discover the possibility of love. September 12, 2016

• • zahgidiwin/love by Frances Koncan, directed by Christine Quintana. A dark, decolonial comedy set against the backdrop of colonial Canada, zahgidiwin/love is a postcolonial fantasy about intergenerational trauma, cultural genocide, truth and reconciliation, and rock’n’roll.  September 13, 2016

• • The Long Call by Jenn Griffin, directed by Heidi Taylor. Holly, an ex-exotic dancer, is close to fulfilling her life’s dream of freeing captive orangutans into the wild when her long estranged ex-boyfriend, Jack, shows up to settle an ancient score. The Long Call is a darkly funny, multimedia piece inspired by shadow puppetry, philosophy, and high stakes poker. September 14, 2016

• • Anywhere but Here by Carmen Aguirre, directed by Anita Rochon. A darkly comic, magic realist play that centres around the quest for home. A family of four Chilean refugees drive a mint condition, hot pink 1950s convertible through the Arizona desert, en route to Chile, which according to the father, is paradise. September 15, 2016

• • Women of Papiyek by Quelemia Sparrow, directed by Kim Harvey. Generations of European and Indigenous mixed race families lived in Papiyek (now called Brockton Point in Stanley Park) before being evicted from their homes and forced to re-locate. This is the story of three Indigenous women who lived in Papiyek at the turn of the 20th century.  September 16, 2016

• • All readings are at the False Creek Community Centre, 1318 Cartwright St., at 1:30 pm, PAY WHAT YOU CAN cash only at the door.

Advance Theatre debuted at the 2015 Fringe Festival to great success and standing room-only houses. According to a national study, women account for less than a third of artistic directors, working directors, and produced playwrights in professional Canadian theatre. Advance Theatre was created to provide more opportunities and profile to diverse female playwrights and directors.

ABOUT RUBY SLIPPERS THEATRE

Multi-award winning Ruby Slippers Theatre produces provocative text-based theatre with a major focus on the French Canadian canon in English translation. We tell stories that illuminate diverse perspectives and social issues. This season, Ruby Slippers Theatre produced three MainStage productions, as well as the inaugural offering of Advance Theatre: New Works by Women with partners Equity in Theatre and the Vancouver Fringe Festival.

ABOUT THE VANCOUVER FRINGE FESTIVAL

The Vancouver Fringe is a celebration of theatre. Over 11 days more than 90 theatre companies come together to share their creativity on stage. The uniqueness of the Fringe comes from the “everyone is welcome” selection technique—Mainstage shows are literally drawn from a hat, while Bring Your Own Venue (BYOV) artists find their own venue, some of them in surprising locations! The Fringe revels in its identity as part theatre, part party. Every night of the Festival, there’s free live music and performances at the Fringe Bar. The Fringe is a cultural experience unlike any other!

This is  your Advance warning – women are taking back the stage

Women of Papiyek is part of a larger work originally commissioned by Full Circle: First Nations Performance and benefited from the work of the Full Circle Aboriginal Ensemble, including dramaturg Michael Springate, and Associate Dramaturg and Researcher Kwasuun Sarah Vedan.

YOU WILL REMEMBER ME

From the play Tu te souviendras de moi by François Archambault • Translated by Bobby Theodore

Directed by Diane Brown • A Ruby Slippers Theatre Production

Actors: Kevin McNulty, Patti Allan, Marci T. House, Sereana Malani, Kevin Loring

A wistful and wise drama about the unexpected and unforgettable.

PERFORMANCE DATES & TIMES: February 2–11, 2017

Evening performances @8pm each night except Sunday and Monday.

Matinee performances Saturday February 4 and Sunday February 5 @2pm; Tuesday February 7 @1pm.

The Gateway Theatre, MainStage

You Will Remember Me is the compassionately told story of an aging intellectual beset with dementia, whose family splinters in their efforts to support him. As he is shuffled between frustrated caregivers, the resilient patriarch begins to reflect on how each of them will remember him after he passes away. Peppered with bittersweet humour, this is a deeply personal and moving new play by François Archambault, one of Québec’s most compelling writers.

“There’s a kind of genius in You Will Remember Me. Director Diane Brown and her team do an excellent job with this script.”—Colin Thomas, THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT

Tickets at 604-270-1812 or www.gatewaytheatre.com

THE CREATIVE TEAM:

Diane Brown, Director

Heidi Wilkinson, Set and Prop Designer

Jessica Oostergo, Costume Designer

John Webber, Lighting Designer

Corwin Ferguson, Video Designer

Joelysa Pankanea, Sound Designer/Composer

Lois Dawson, Stage Manager

Ruby Slippers Theatre’s 2014/15 Season earned 8 Jessie Richardson Theatre Award Nominations and 3 awards. Bravo to all!

Celebrating the Outrageous Tenacious Human Spirit

Ruby Slippers Theatre is thrilled to present a season celebrating the courageous, outrageous, tenacious human spirit. For the past 26 years, Ruby Slippers Theatre has created, produced and presented provocative text-based theatre from the vanguard of the English and French Canadian canon, illuminating diverse perspectives and social issues. The 2014/15 season furthers this commitment, while reflecting our penchant for smart social satire that is infectiously entertaining.

CELEBRATE CRUCIAL NEW VOICES FROM QUEBEC IN ENGLISH TRANSLATION!

In association with BoucheWHACKED! Theatre Collective

January 27-February 1, 2015

Studio 16, 

1555 West 7th Avenue, Vancouver, BC

Après Moi

Written by Christian Bégin, Translated by Leanna Brodie | Featuring *Scott Bellis, *David Bloom, *Jennifer Lines, Chirag Naik and *Dawn Petten | Directed by *Diane Brown | Set and Lights by John Webber | Costumes by Drew Facey | Sound by Mishelle Cuttler

Après Moi is six versions of the same story, six ways of experiencing the same moment with increasing intimacy. It’s also a chance to see five of Vancouver's best actors deliver performances laced with sincerity and absolute precision. An examination of loneliness, this play explores our ever more distant connections to others, emphasizing the transformational power of human relationships, all with a strong dose of black humour.

The List

Written by Jennifer Tremblay, Translated by Shelley Tepperman | Featuring *France Perras | Directed by *Jack Paterson | Set and Lights by John Webber | Costumes by Drew Facey | Sound by Mishelle Cuttler

In The List, A woman invites us into her kitchen. Her neighbour is dead. Is she culpable for the death? The woman, who prides herself on never letting anything slip by, has overlooked an item on her list. A riveting tale of everyday to-do lists in which the essential and the ordinary are inextricably entwined.

The Duchess aka Wallis Simpson

April 7-18, 2015 at the Cultch Historic Theatre, 1895 Venables Street, Vancouver, BC

Apr 7-12, 14-18: 8PM

Apr 11, 12, 18: 2PM

Lively post-show talkbacks: Apr 9, 14

Preview: Apr 7

Opening Night: Apr 8

Tickets and info: The Cultch | The Cultch Box Office, 604.251.1363 

Running time: 120 minutes with intermission

By Linda Griffiths | Featuring Eileen Barrett, Georgia Beaty, Diane Brown, Craig Erickson, Joel Garner, Raugi Yu​, Melissa Oei, Kamyar Pazandeh, Matt Reznek, Xander Williams | Directed by Sarah Rodgers | Set by Michael Bock | Costumes by Mara Gottler | Lighting by John Webber | Sound by Scott Zechner | Choreography by Shelley Stewart Hunt | Photo Credit: Tim Matheson | Also featuring the sexy stylings of John Fluevog Shoes, one of our Season Sponsors!                   

THE DUCHESS a.k.a. Wallis Simpson is the fabulous, epic and true tale of Wallis Simpson, the notorious, convention-smashing American divorcee for whom Edward VIII gave up the throne in 1936. The play follows her through her tumultuous adult life and features such historical figures as Noel Coward, King George V, Queen Mary, Hitler and, of course, Wallis Simpson. 

The Reviews are in!

THE SUN 

"She eats Craig Erickson's boyist Edward VIII alive, and stands toe-to-toe with Hitler himself"

"Brown's pitch perfect Simpson makes it all absolutely worth it. Tall and sassy, at once scandalously immoral and beguilingly naive, she sashays through history seducing men and destroying just about everything she touches."

THE STRAIGHT

Playful, sexy, irreverent—The Duchess is a lively ride through the life of 20th-century icon.

“You can’t just get rid of women like me—we stick,” says Simpson at one point. With portrayals as memorable as this, she’s likely to stick around for a long while yet.

REVIEW VANCOUVER

"Diane Brown and Craig Erickson front wonderful chemistry as Wallis and Edward. There is palpable affection and clear contrition between them."

VANCOUVER PRESENTS!

Diane Brown is absolutely breathtaking as Simpson. …Brown is so effective in the role that we actually root for her. 

success. 

The Great Raymond-A Play in Development

FREE CULTURE DAYS EVENT

September 26, 1-4pm

Mount Pleasant Community Centre, Multi-Purpose Room 2

Directed by Diane Brown 

Featuring Meghan Gardiner, Dawn Petten, Monice Peter, Barbara Pollard, Leslie Dos Remedios, Donna Soares, Colleen Wheeler

The Great Raymond, by award-winning writer Timothy Taylor, is based on the astonishing true story of police corruption and outrageous scandal in 1950s Vancouver. Ruby Slippers Theatre is presenting an open workshop on September 26, 2014 featuring an all-female cast; women playing hard-boiled journalists, detectives, bookies and cops in this gritty Femme Noir drama.

Communion

A crisis brings three women crashing together, exposing what they truly do, and do not, believe in. Smart, dark, hilarious. MacIvor at his best.

Written by Daniel MacIvor | Featuring Diane Brown, Kerry Sandomirsky & Marcie Nestman | Directed by Roy Surette

THE REVIEWS ARE IN!

Hotel Bethlehem

 

By Drew McCreadie

Directed by Diane Brown 

 

The Nativity Story meets Fawlty Towers. A Ruby Slippers Theatre original, and the funniest Christmas show ever, is back again by popular demand.

 

By Drew McCreadie | Directed by Diane Brown and boasts 11 of Vancouver's finest actors including veterans John Murphy, Scott Bellis, Alex Diakun and Alvin Sanders- and includes the design talents of set designer David Roberts, sound designer Jordan Watkins, lighting designer Jonathan Ryder and costume designer Drew Facey.

 

Presented by The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts and the Firehall Arts Centre

 

December 4–7: Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby | Buy tickets Online, email at boxoffice@burnaby.ca or call 604-205-3000 for tickets

December 10–22: Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver | Buy tickets online, email firehall@firehallartscentre.ca or call 604.689.0926

 

 

 

It'll Never Last

The Great Raymond

In Development

By Timothy Taylor

 

From the actual journals and writings of B.C.’s most revered investigative reporter Jack Webster,

see Vancouver as you’ve never seen it – police corruption, drug dealing, blackmail and murder.

And it’s all true.

Be sure to grab the September 2013 copy of Playboard Magazine! Ruby Slippers Theatre's celebration of 25 years in theatre is on the cover with a great story on the company and Diane Brown. Check it out…

A Beautiful View

The intangibles of love are explored in our nationally acclaimed production of A Beautiful View presented at SFU Woodwards in the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre. Written and directed by Governor Generals Award-winner Daniel Maclvor. A Beautiful View is a both clever and compassionate story of two women who meet and mistake each other for a lesbian. A Beautiful View will be presented at the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre at SFU Woodwards September 26th-29th. You can find tickets here.

Hotel Bethlehem

Hotel Bethlehem, by award-winning Vancouver playwright Drew McCreadie, dares to deconstruct the Nativity Story through satire and insightful humanity. It's back this Christmas! It is probably the one and only existential Christmas comedy that will have you belly-laughing for two hours.  Please join us at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts in Burnaby December 12 – 15 and the Firehall Arts Centre in Vancouver December 18 – 22. You can find tickets for The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts here and for the Firehall Arts Centre, here.

 For more ticketing information, please visit our "Buy Tickets" section.