Hallmark parody play coming to Stage North in Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. – An original, locally written Christmas play is coming to Fort St. John the weekend before Christmas.

Creators Taylor Hastings and Ben Bilodeau spoke with Catarina Costa and Warren ‘Dub’ Craig at Moose FM on December 12 about Stage North’s Peace Country Christmas: A Hallmark Parody Musical playing at the North Peace Cultural Centre.

“Everything we’ve ever talked about with this show is infusing joy as much as we can and giving people something they feel seen in and can laugh at by just recognition by fun tidbits,” Hastings said. 

The original play was conceived after the creators took inspiration from Hallmark movies, and realized Fort St. John would be the perfect location for such a movie. 

“The town has so much character there was just an abundance of material to work with, and it’s just very fun and exciting to get to package it up and present it to the people who live here,” Hastings said. 

The duo emphasized their desire for the play to appeal to both long-term residents and newcomers to Fort St. John, with the inclusion of countless nuances. The play includes local details such as graffiti, car plug-ins, and the way locals give directions by using buildings and businesses that no longer exist. 

“Because we know the Christmas season has a lot of spending, we made sure that adult tickets are $20, and kids are $15,” Bilodeau said. 

The family-friendly performance is open to the public on December 19th, 20th, and 21st, and tickets can be purchased online through the North Peace Cultural Centre’s website.

To watch the full interview with Dub and Catarina, see below.