upcoming
BENEVOLENCE
What a beautiful ride this has been! On behalf of everyone from RST and Team Benevolence, we deeply thank you for your overwhelming support, heart felt testimonials and emails, and for sharing this wildly poetic theatrical experience with us. Check out the rest of the RST season here. An English language premiere production from Ruby Slippers Theatre of a Governor General’s award winning play.
by Fanny Britt – Translated by Leanna Brodie.
Directed by Diane Brown
Pacific Theatre (1440 W 12th Avenue)
Gilles Jean, big-time lawyer, returns to his hometown of Benevolence to try a troubling case involving the child of an old friend. But with the ghosts of his deceased brothers and father peering over his shoulder, and his mother asking after the state of his soul, homecoming is no easy thing. This pitch-black comedy (presented in a new English translation) offers a surreal reflection on our small cowardices and our great contradictions.
Reviews
“What a smart play Benevolence is. Ruby Slippers’ production takes on serious ethical issues in a theatrically dynamic way. Crisp rhythmic direction from Diane Brown; the power of the character’s anguish feels almost at times visceral. First rate drama…and it’s funny too!”
“Chris Lam’s Bruno is a jewel of a performance, the still centre around which everything revolves.”
Benevolence: exuberance, compassion
“Director Diane Brown has embraced the vivacity of Britt’s storytelling and infused this production with stylistic exuberance.”
“A fantastical, sometimes paradoxical adult fairy tale.”
“Stephanie Wong, who’s playing Isabelle, the grieving mom, delivers the least stylized characterization — and one of the most effective.”
“Diane Brown wisely allows the actors to maintain the pace of the play while assuring that the playwright’s Quebecois sensibility remained intact.”
Performance Schedule
Thursday Sept. 29, PREVIEW 8 pm
Friday Sept. 30, OPEN 8 pm
Saturday Oct. 1, 2 pm and 8 pm
Wednesday Oct. 5, 8 pm
Thursday Oct. 6, 8 pm
Friday Oct. 7, 8 pm
Saturday Oct. 8, 2 pm and 8 pm
Wednesday Oct. 12, 8 pm
Thursday Oct. 13, 8 pm
Friday Oct. 14, 8 pm
Saturday Oct. 15, 2 pm and 8 pm
Directed by Diane Brown. Featuring Charlie Gallant, Chris Lam, Paul Moniz de Sá, Stephanie Wong, and Beatrice Zeilinger. Sound Design by Rick Colhoun. Set and Lighting Design by John Webber. Costume Design by Jessica Oostergo. Properties by Monica Emme. Stage Management by Nico Dicecco. Apprentice Stage Manager Dayna Horn. Technical Direction by Daniel O’Shea.
English language translation commissioned by Ruby Slippers Theatre.
Featuring Charlie Gallant, Chris Lam, Paul Moniz de Sá, Stephanie Wong, and Beatrice Zeilinger; Photos by Moonrider Productions
Cast Bios
This is my debut with Pacific Theatre & Ruby Slippers. Thank you for coming! I am grateful to live and work on the traditional, ancestral and unceded Territories of the Coast Salish People while I’m here.
Selected Theatre credits: Noises Off (Arts Club), Shakespeare In Love (Bard), The Scarlet Letter (Theatre Calgary), Long Days’ Journey Into Night (Stratford), The Winter’s Tale (Groundling, TO), Our Town (Shaw), Proud (Belfry), A Few Good Men (MTC/Citadel), Becky Shaw (Mitch & Murray), December Man (Greenthumb), Brief Encounters (Vancouver Playhouse), Snowman (Rumble).
Film/TV: Done/Undone, Good Witch, The Strain, Murdoch Mysteries, Fringe, Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief.
Graduate of Studio 58. Photography @charlie_byrd.
Chris Lam is director and actor working on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Director: Dogfight (Awkward Stage Productions), The Nether (Redcurrant Collective/Firehall Arts Centre), I, Myself and Strange and Unusual (Studio 58), Frankenstein: Lost in Darkness (Pacific Theatre).
Actor: Marcellus in The Music Man (Gateway Theatre), Owen Meany in A Prayer for Owen Meany (Ensemble Theatre Company) and Quang in Vietgone (United Players) He is currently the associate artistic director of Ensemble Theatre Company, and founder of West Moon Theatre both based in Vancouver, BC.
Awards: Ray Michal Award for Emerging Director, Ovation award CTC for direction. Upcoming: Drewe and Stiles’ Three Little Pigs (Carousel Theatre). Follow him on IG and Twitter: @phildashil
Paul received Jessie awards for his performances in “The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe” (Pacific Theatre) and “The Overcoat” (Vancouver Playhouse) and Jessie nominations for his performance in “Driving Miss Daisy” (Pacific Theatre) and sound design for “One In A Million” (Green Thumb Theatre) and “The Prodigal Son” (Touchstone/Pacific Theatre). Other theatre credits include; Shakespeare in Love, 2 Gentlemen of Verona, and Taming of the Shrew at Bard on the Beach. Film credits include; The Good Doctor, The Unforgivable, The BFG, Shogun, and Motherland: Fort Salem. Paul is the Artistic Director of Theatre, Music and Film at Arts Umbrella and a graduate of Studio 58.
Born in Hong Kong, Stephanie Wong is a director, creator, designer, and actor living on the ancestral and unceded lands of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm, Skwxwú7mesh, and Səl̓ílwətaʔ peoples. In addition to her creative practice, she is also the Associate Artistic Director at re:Naissance Opera. Since graduating Studio 58’s acting program, she’s had the pleasure of working for various Canadian companies, highlights including vAct, Buddies in Bad Times, The Arts Club, Theatre Replacement, Western Canada Theatre, Electric Company Theatre, and Gateway Theatre. Upcoming: The Apocrypha Chronicles (Director, re:Naissance Opera), The Addams Family (Designer, Crofton House Secondary), God Said This (Actor, Pacific Theatre).
Beatrice is excited to be a part of this production and perform at Pacific Theatre for the first time. She is a Vancouver-based actor working in film, t.v. and theatre. Past productions for Ruby Slippers include Patagonia, The Ruby Cabaret, MMM, The Waiting Room, 5 @50 and Les Belles Soeur. She’s a multiple nominee and three-time Jessie Award winner and graduate of Studio 58.
