New season features shows highlighting the work of Wilfred Owen, Leonard Cohen.
Theatre20, Toronto’s own artist-driven theatre company, announced their new season for the 2015/16 year tonight at their annual launch party. Their new season showcases their commitment to supporting ongoing Canadian talent, and features several works currently in development.
The new season features a mounting of Chelsea Hotel: The Songs of Leonard Cohen as the main production, playing from February 3-21, 2016 at Theatre Passe Muraille. The show, which had its world premiere in 2012 at Vancouver’s Firehall Arts Centre, features (you guessed it) the music of Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. In it, six performers play seventeen different instruments in a tribute to the musical legend.
In addition to this, Theatre20 also teased showcase presentations of a number of Canadian works currently undergoing development. The development shows are as follows:
August 20-23, 2015. Musical Works: A Festival Celebrating New Musical Theatre. Theatre20 has partnered with Musical Works to bring you a series of concerts that will celebrate new Canadian musicals. Factory Theatre.
August 7, 2015. A Misfortune. A married woman and a young lawyer walk through the woods. Their friendship has reached an impasse. Previously featured at the Toronto Next Stage Festival, this adaptation of an Anton Chekov story is described as “a romantic, bittersweet musical about small moments and momentous decisions.”
November 11, 2015. The End. This show centres on the letters written by Wilfred Owen to his mother during the Great War, as well as Owen’s poetry. A showcase presentation will be held at the Tarragon Theatre.
(Development) June 2015-August 2016. The Secret Life of Dr. James Miranda Barry. A musical centring around the life of Dr. James Miranda Barry, a 19th century surgeon who lived his adult life as male, but was discerned as female upon his death.
They also announced several events for the coming year, including a Celebrity Golf Tournament on September 21st; ‘Taste of 20’ on November 26th at the National Club; a Theatre20 Holiday Cabaret on December 13th at the Alleycatz Restaurant Lounge; and finally, a Valentine’s Soiree on February 14th at Theatre Passe Muraille.
Theatre20’s mandate has always been to support Canadian musical theatre by developing new talent through workshops, outreach initiatives, and many other development programs. They also work to reinvent existing standards. You can read more about their work, upcoming events, and their current season here.