Post-war industrial Cape Breton is the backdrop for the Cape Breton University (CBU) Boardmore Theatre’s production of The Company Store, which takes the stage November 22. Written by playwright Mary Vingoe and directed by Todd Hiscock, the production will run until December 2.
The Company Store is the story of Ian MacDonald who comes home to post war industrial Cape Breton to put his past in order. The play is based on the novel by celebrated author Sheldon Currie.
“As the Artistic Director of Boardmore Theatre I am always looking for plays that have not been produced at the playhouse. In this case I was particularly interested in staging a play by an Atlantic Canadian playwright, so I looked to the Playwrights Atlantic Resource Centre for a listing of plays. The Company Store is an obvious choice because of its local content, but also because it is a very well-written play. Mary Vingoe has stayed true to the Sheldon Currie novel by focusing on the relationships between the characters, while using an early Cape Breton coal mining community as the backdrop,” says Hiscock.
Mary Vingoe has worked in professional Canadian theatre for thirty years as an actor, playwright, dramaturge, director, artistic director and producer. Vingoe was born in Halifax, NS and attended Dalhousie University where she graduated with The University Medal in Theatre. She has written six plays and has received several prestigious awards throughout her career.
The Company Store is on stage November 22 (Pay What You Can), 23, 24, 30 and December 1 at 7 p.m., November 26-29 at 10:00a.m., and December 2 at 2:00p.m.
The Boardmore Playhouse will feature eight plays during its 42nd Season of Plays, ending in May 2013. CBU Playhouse box office is open one week prior to performances and during the week of performances Monday to Friday, between 1-5 p.m., and one hour before show time. Pricing is $12 for general admission; $8 for students and seniors; and $6 for CBU students.
