ON STAGE
What: Swan Song (and other farces)
Where: Roxy Theatre, 2657 Quadra St.
When: Tuesday, April 24, through May 6
Tickets: $20-$47 through the Roxy Theatre box office (250-382-3370) or online at bluebridgetheatre.ca
Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre is known for its attention to programming with an enduring quality — the classics, so to speak.
“Not classical — the classics,” artist director Brian Richmond said with a laugh, noting the very important distinction. “All the plays we choose have to meet that standard. Our audience has to have a little bit of adventure in their spirit, and they have to come out and take a chance.”
Richmond is staying true to his assessment with the upcoming Blue Bridge production, Swan Song (and other farces), a quartet of one-act plays written by Anton Chekhov that Richmond has chosen to open his company’s 10th anniversary season.
“We have a perception that Russian playwrights are kind of dour and more or less the opposite of funny,” Richmond said. “But I think people will discover that these plays, which were phenomenally popular in Chekhov’s time period, are really silly and delightfully funny.”
The quartet of “parlour farces” by the 19th-century playwright and short-story auteur — The Bear, The Proposal, On the Dangers of Tobacco, and Swan Song — opens Tuesday, with a cast that includes several familiar faces, albeit with one minor exception. Veteran actors Wes Tritter, RJ Peters, Rod Peter Jr., Celine Stubel and Treena Stubel will be joined for the run by an exciting new arrival, seven-year-old musical prodigy Noa Paster, for whom Richmond believes big things are in store.
Like many Blue Bridge productions, Swan Song (and other farces) is clearly a labour of love for everyone involved, especially Richmond. Chekhov allows him to bring another passion project to the stage.“He’s my favourite playwright of all time. Shakespeare is absolutely amazing, but Chekhov is equally as amazing, albeit in a different genre altogether.”
Chekhov is not recognized for his knee-slapping wordplay; his calling cards were a serious approach to the craft of writing and fondness for non-verbal subtext. His legacy has lived on and was popularized further during the early 20th century thanks to nephew Michael Chekhov, who developed a revelatory approach to acting that influenced everyone from Jack Nicholson to Clint Eastwood — a precursor to what eventually became Method acting.
Though much of what mainstream audiences know about the Russian master is limited to Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya, Richmond said the depth of his comedic ability is often overlooked. Swan Song (and other farces) is clearly not meant to showcase Anton Chekhov’s serious side. The purpose is to bring his light touch to the fore.
“Chekhov is a master of drawing portraits of us that show our vanities, how vain we are as a species. It’s always fun to laugh at yourself, so I think people will get a lot of fun out of these four pieces.”
Other plays in the upcoming Blue Bridge season include: All My Sons (May 29-June 10), Arthur Miller’s post-Second World War drama; The Drawer Boy (July 3-15), Michael Healey’s wildly successful play set in rural Ontario; and Sweeney Todd (July 31–Aug. 12), the iconic Stephen Sondheim musical. A decade into its run, Richmond — the former University of Victoria theatre chair — loves what Blue Bridge offers to the bustling theatre community in Victoria.
“What we do is not driven by profit. We are trying to add to the cultural fabric of the city by offering as many diverse experiences to people young and old as we possibly can.”
It has been “extraordinarily difficult” at times, with a well-publicized dark period that nearly bankrupted the business in 2015. Blue Bridge acquired the Roxy Theatre in 2013, which became an almost-insurmountable hurdle. But with help from donors, outside funding, and internal revenue, Richmond said the company has reduced its debt “enormously” in the past three years, dropping its debt load from $500,000 to $50,000. The company posted a modest surplus in that same three-year period, proving to Richmond that the Blue Bridge business model clearly works.
“For me, what it’s been about is learning to stick with it, and to not allow yourself to be dispirited. We’ve done that on the strength of getting audiences engaged in our shows, and offering something of value to the city.”
