MORRISBURG – What could be more Canadian than watching, and arguing, over a curling game?
In Kristen Da Silva’s feel good, hilarious comedy, ‘Hurry Hard’, set in a curling rink, audiences will be invited to ‘meet the team’, share the ups and downs of a competition, and get to know – and maybe – get to love some unique and fascinating curlers.
One or two of these characters may be a bit flawed: but as Upper Canada Playhouse artistic director Donnie Bowes puts it, “You don’t have to know anything about the sport. The comedy is all directed towards the relationships between the characters and a divorced couple who must play together in a big Bonspiel. It’s a comedy set in a small town with characters audiences can relate to…in that sense, much like a Norm Foster play.”
Kristen Da Silva is a noted, wonderful playwright. The Playhouse has already staged her ‘Where You Are’ and ‘Sugar Road’ which had audiences cheering.
This is a co-production between the Orillia Opera House and Upper Canada Playhouse, and is directed by well-known actor/director/playwright Jesse Collins. Collins’ work has been hugely popular at the Playhouse.
He is the creator of the musical hits, ‘Linda Ronstadt & The Eagles What Might have Been’ and ‘Dean and Jerry What Might Have Been.’ He has also directed Playhouse audience favourites ‘A Woman’s Love List’, ‘Doris and Ivy in the Home,’ ‘The Ladies Foursome,’ and ‘The Affections of May’ among others. Collins is bringing his entire Orillia cast to the Playhouse.
Brothers Terry (Tim Walker) and Bill (Darren Keay) are going to enter the big regional Bonspiel.
Terry desperately wants to take the champion title away from “hated rivals Meaford.”
But to do that, Bill must cope with issues with his ex-wife Sandy (Erin MacKinnon). Sandy has been teaching her friend Darlene (Caitlin Driscoll) to curl, but Darlene’s true interests may lie less with curling rocks than with the handsome, slightly arrogant but charming Johnnie (Jack Ettlinger).
Can this mismatched lot create a “team”? Will obsessions about curling, love tangles and maybe a bit of sexism lead to more poor ends than they can overcome? Will the audience be swept up in this story and find themselves cheering for these characters?
Yes, they will, as this wonderful Da Silva play, with the audience right there in the curling rink, plays out.
This is an hilarious story about real people…and the throws and sweeps that make up curling. Playhouse audiences are in for a wonderful production
‘Hurry Hard’ runs at Upper Canada Playhouse September 4-28.
As director Jesse Collins says, “One of the most amazing things about ‘Hurry Hard’ isn’t its characters, the laughs or even the unique setting of a curling club. It’s the way it somehow manages to bring people together and makes the audience itself into a community. Not just to win a Bonspiel, but to get through life together. ‘Hurry Hard’ makes them cheer for the characters and for themselves.”
Discover more from Morrisburg Leader
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.