‘Everything from very funny to very moving to very thoughtful’: Theatre festival competition coming to Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Comedies, historical fictions and one-man shows will be in Fort St. John when the city is host to a regional theatre festival.

The Peace River Zone Theatre Festival will feature five plays over five days, and will be held at the North Peace Secondary School (NPSS) theatre.

A spot at Theatre BC’s Mainstage, the provincial theatre championship taking place in Fort St. John in July, is on the cards for the actors, according to the zone’s festival president, Ted Sloan.

“There are all sorts of plays which is really cool,” said Sloan. “You have everything from a farce [to] how to survive a Shakespeare show to two historical dramas.”

Teams from NPSS, Baldonnel, Peace River and Stage North Theatre Society will also have entries at the festival, which takes place from May 20th to 24th.

Notable among the competition will be Stage North Theatre Society’s entry: Bluebirds, a historical drama about three nurses in the First World War.

The play recently finished a theatrical run at NPSS in early May.

Other entries include The Last President of Canada, a drama about the life of Paul Chartier, who was killed during an attempt to bomb Parliament in 1966; Larceny and Old Lace, a comedy about two elderly women who rob a casino; Stranglehold, a play about a terminally ill man who tries to win over the love of his life; and How to Survive Being in a Shakespeare Play.

“[There’s] everything from very funny to very moving to very thoughtful,” said Sloan.

With the spot at provincials on the line, each play will be critiqued by actor Zac Scott, who is originally from Fort St. John but now resides in Vancouver.

Scott will score each play, with the highest score representing the zone at Mainstage.

Each of the plays is open to the public, with tickets starting at $10.  A pass for the entire festival, for $40, is also available.

To RSVP to the Peace River Zone Theatre Festival or for more information, email Sloan at stagenorthsm1@gmail.com.