 Our regular season run of When the Wind Blows wrapped up on Saturday, April 30 to great audience reviews. If you missed it, relax... you have one more opportunity to catch this tragic-comedy, centred on a retired English couple who hopelessly reminisce about World War II in the face of a pending nuclear strike at the height of the Cold War. When the Wind Blows will be SOAP Theatre's entry in the 2022 Okanagan Zone Theatre Festival to be held in Oliver. It shows Sunday evening, May 22nd at 7:30 in the Venables Theatre. What audience members say about When the Wind Blows:
Saw the show last night. Poignant, powerful, funny and frightening. Really enjoyed it. Hope you get the crowds it deserves. Well done to all of you. - Sylvia S. (Osoyoos) I was at the opening night. Ritchie and Margie were awesome - I never thought two people could carry a whole show, but you proved me wrong! - Miles K. (Penticton) Saw the show last night ….I would recommend it to anybody….great play...great acting. - June J. (Oliver) Enjoyed the show. Acting was spot on. The set was well done and the audio-visuals were frighteningly effective. -Scott M. (Oliver) I've been privileged to watch this extremely satisfying play. A cast that has chemistry and weaves its magic. The story is poignant, it echoes todays international mayhem. This play was written 40 years ago but it could have been yesterday. Thank you Ritchie, Margi, set designers, cast, crew, M/C and myriad behind the scenes supports... - Jill M. (Kelowna) Great play! Glad I went. Valeria D. Amazing show. Bittersweet as this is going on now in Ukraine. Let there be peace. - Doris K. Excellent acting. Kept me engaged the entire time. - Colleen M. Very well done! - Nicole N. (Penticton) Wonderful show. So well done. Difficult to watch at times. Thank you. - Lefa S. (Saskatchewan) Well done. I cried. Especially when this world of ours is in such a horrific state. Peace and Love is all we need. Imagine… - Wendy C. (Oliver)
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 After a two-year hiatus because of Covid-19, we are so excited to announce that the Okanagan Zone Theatre Festival is back again; and even more excited that SOAP is the host club for this year's event! There will be six different plays presented at the Venables Theatre in Oliver during the week of May 22 to May 27, followed by an awards banquet at the Oliver Senior Centre on Saturday May 28.
Six Dramatic Days of Live Theatre, plus a banquet are scheduled as follows.
 We are pleased to finally stage When the Wind Blows, by Raymond Briggs. Planning for this show began in 2019. It was originally scheduled for production in April 2021, before our season was fully cancelled by Covid. Now, here we are in the spring of 2022, presenting an anti-war play that was first written almost 40 years ago, at the height of the Cold War, when nuclear disarmament protests were at their height throughout western democracies. Some of you may remember the annual Mother’s Day ban-the-bomb marches held throughout Canada. Now, 40 years later, we are witnessing a devastating invasion of Ukraine, along with rising tensions between “The West” and the Russian government, arguably at an unprecedented level. What can we make of a play that is centred on a nuclear attack by Russia in these uncertain and worrisome times? How can we respond? Some of our patrons have suggested to us that current world events will turn this dark comedy into just something dark. But we take a different view. The threat of war, including nuclear war, was front and centre in our popular psyche in the 1980s. Anti-war protests were not uncommon. These worries and protests were the catalyst for Briggs to originally write When the Wind Blows. Now, as we contemplate the current world situation, we realize that not much has changed in 40 years. While the threat of war may have taken a back seat since the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, and some say it was swept under the rug, we realize it has remained a real threat all along. So, we present this show in its original form, with its original message: Can any population really be prepared for a nuclear conflict? Are there any winners? Is war an answer to our worldly problems? All world leaders must hear this message loud and clear and cannot be supported in their pursuit of military conquest! The people of Ukraine are the most recent, living, eyewitnesses to the horrors of war. We dedicate this show to them and to all other peoples suffering from the effects of invasion, civil war, terrorist insurrection and all armed conflict around the world, including Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ethiopia and Palestine, to mention only a few. You Can Help ..... Click on a logo, below, to donate:
 Each year we strive to stage three productions (Fall, Winter and Spring).
We are looking for past, current and future directors and producers to come forward with show ideas for our Fall and Spring shows next season. (The winter show will be The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, postponed from earlier this year.) If you have a favourite play you want to see staged in the South Okanagan, why not consider directing or producing it? It's a great chance to revitalize your artistic juices! Alternately, if you are interested in directing, but don't have your mind set on a specific play, let us know and perhaps we can explore some options together. If you have theatre experience but have not directed before, perhaps we can team you up with someone in our group be your mentor and assistant. Once we have a draft list of plays and proponents, the final selection is up our Board of Directors. We look to having our season locked in and ready to announce in early May. If you are interested please contact us by email at info@soplayers.ca.  While performance venues in BC are still allowed to operate at 50% capacity, and closed rehearsals are allowed to continue as a "workplace", the current situation with the Omicron variant of Covid-19 has created an unacceptable risk to the success of this production.
As director, Nathan Linders, summarized the situation in recent communication with cast and crew, "By mandate of the PHO, any cold symptoms have to be treated as having the potential for Covid, and a cough, fever, etc. mean we have to self-isolate, meaning missed rehearsals or even missing performances. Given the speed with which Covid and the current common cold is racing through our communities it has become clear to me that counting on ten cast members and three to six critical backstage members getting through a two week span (during performances) without someone coming down with a cough are very low." Already in December, three rehearsals had to be held with stand-ins for cast members in isolation and one rehearsal was cancelled outright. Rehearsals in the first week of January were also cancelled for the same reason. The risk of last-minute show cancellations just seems unacceptably high at this point. SOAP has, therefore, decided to pull The Black Bonspiel off of this year's roster and reschedule it for next season. Our spring show, When the Wind Blows, is still scheduled to proceed as scheduled (April 22-30). We hope to have rounded the current fifth wave of Covid by then. In addition, that show only has a two cast members, who live in the same house, so self-isolation are not a concern and any last-minute cancellations are much less of a risk. Ticket holders for The Black Bonspiel will be contacted by Venables Theatre shortly with options to exchange tickets for our spring show, exchange for gift certificate credit that can be applied to next year's show(s), or to receive a refund. We apologize for this unfortunate decision and thank all of our patrons for their ongoing support and understanding. SOAP is pleased to announce that the cast and some key crew members have been announced for their upcoming spring performances of When the Wind Blows, by Raymond Briggs. In addition to the scheduled performances at Venables Theatre April 22-30, 2022, When the Wind Blows will be SOAP Theatre's entry in the 2022 Okanagan Zone Theatre Festival, to be held in Oliver May 20-28, 2022 
 Director, Nathan Linders, is pleased to announce that a full cast has been selected to stage The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, to hit the Venables stage starting February 4. Thank you to all the others who expressed an interest in this show and a special welcome to SOAP Theatre newcomer actors Derek Beaton and Bill Shields (though Bill is currently rehearsing in his debut role in Flaming Idiots).
O. CLOUTIE (Jen Jensen): Travelling woman (or man). For untold millennia, Cloutie has skipped a curling rink in the Celestial Brier. She is founder of First Fallen Angel Church, Closed Assembly of Satan, and a very a poor loser. WULLIE MacCRIMMON (David Badger): A shoe-maker, and continuing Presbyterian. He skips his curling rink. Like Cloutie, he prefers to win. REVEREND PRINGLE (Joel Browne): Skilled curler. Since the union of the Methodist and Presbyterian churches in the twenties, he has been minister of Grace United Church. ANNIE BROWN (Connie Mythen): Malleable Charlie Brown' wife. She is Mormon and does not curl. A little of Annie goes a long way and there seems to be quite a lot of her. She also is a poor loser. PIPE-FITTING CHARLIE BROWN (Derek Beaton): Plumber, who curls second for Wullie. Over the years, the joints of his Protestant soul have sprung many leaks, but he feels that time and corrosion will heal up anything. CLOCK CHARLIE BROWN (Clem Jones): A jeweler who curls lead for Wullie. He is Catholic. MALLEABLE CHARLIE BROWN (Tom Szalay): A blacksmith who curls third for Wullie. He has two problems: (1) an untrustworthy lower back, and (2) his wife, Annie. GUY FAWKES (Joe Rupcich): Explosive Englishman, who curls lead for Cloutie. JUDAS ISCARIOT (Garry Doll): Lapsed Christian, who curls second for Cloutie. MACBETH (Bill Shields): A rather wordy and ambitious countryman of Wullie's, who curls third for Cloutie. Like Wullie, he is a continuing Presbyterian and he can appreciate Malleable Charlie Brown’s marital problem.
We are busily working on three shows for our 2021-2022 season. Rehearsals for Flaming Idiots are in full swing for opening night on November 19. Auditions for The Black Bonspiel of Wullie McCrimmon will take place over the week. (Fill out this form if you are interested in a part.) Auditions for our spring show, When the Wind Blows, will be announced at a later date. Tickets for all three shows are on sale now! Click here for pricing options. You can get your tickets online by clicking on the buttons below. If you prefer a personal touch, you can also purchase them in person at the Venables Theatre box office at 6100 Gala Street in Oliver, or by phone at 250-498-1626. The box office is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10:00am - 3:00pm. Customers should be aware that by order of the Provincial Health Officer (PHO), a QR code proof of vaccination is required to access all live theater events in BC. To maximize patron safety, we are advised that the Venables Theatre has required all of their staff and volunteers working at any live event to be vaccinated as well.
Visit the the Provincial web site for information on how to get your BC Vaccine Card. While current PHO rules limit indoor event attendance to 200 people, we anticipate that if vaccine requirements sufficiently limit the spread of Covid-19 at indoor events, these audience limits may be increased before our scheduled show times. If not, SOAP will attempt to add additional performances so that our dedicated patrons will still be able to see our stuff! |
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