The Presentation House Theatre

Gutenberg! the Musical!

No Bells and Whistles presents a Wide Eyed Production in Association with Presentation House Theatre

September 22-October 9 @ 8pm Tues – Sat and 2pm on Sun

The hit of the 2008 Fringe Festival is back! This award winning musical spoof follows Bud and Doug, two hapless composers who have created the greatest mega-musical of all time, all about the life of Johann Gutenberg, inventor of the printing press.   Through the course of the show the two portray Gutenberg, his love interest (Helvetica), his nemesis (an evil Monk) and over 20 other characters as they pitch their opus to a band of ruthless Broadway producers.

“Gute? It’s gureat!” - Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun

She’s Gone Away

A co-presentation by Presentation House Theatre & The Dance Centre.

October 7,8,9 at the Scotia Bank Dance Centre in Vancouver

She’s Gone Away is a one-woman performance piece conceived and created by Susanna Hood with co-composer Nilan Perera and director Jennifer Tarver. Using dream and memory to touch on themes of sexuality, female power, healing, and loss of innocence, She’s Gone Away is performed through the combined language of movement, song, poetic text, instrumental music, and visual design. Winner of the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance in Dance in 2006.

“She’s Gone Away is superb…Hood is simply sublime in her portrayal of a woman struggling to find herself.” – Paula Citron, Classical 96.3 FM

9 Parts of Desire

A Presentation House Theatre Production by American / Iraqi playwright Heather Raffo

October 14 – 30 @ 8pm Tues – Sat and 4pm Sat, 2pm on Sun

In the news every day the catastrophic war on Iraq is superficially being played out. 9 Parts of Desire lifts the veil, giving us an intimate look at nine vastly different Iraqi women who struggle not only with the burden of tradition, but also with the anguish of war and the guilt of survival. A timely meditation on the ancient, the modern and the feminine in a country battered by war.

“An example of how art can remake the world! A triumph! Thrilling!” - The New Yorker

Trudeau Stories

A co-presentation by Ruby Slippers and Presentation House Theatre by Brooke Johnson

November 9 -13 @ 8pm Tues – Sat and 4pm Sat

The enigma of Pierre Elliott Trudeau is a bug Canadians will never fully get out of our system. His presence redefined a somewhat dowdy country in the eyes of the world, leaving us with a collective anxiety about whether we quite measured up. Brooke Johnson has captured this strange ambivalence in a beautiful one-woman show about her friendship with the just-retired PM when she was only 23.

“[an] unexpectedly engaging memoir…like turning the pages of a live snapshot album…a maximum of craft but a minimum of artifice….it’s delightful.” – Robert Cushman, National Post

Damien

A Stagelight Productions presentation by Aldyth Morris

November 17 – 28 @ 8pm Tues – Sat and 4pm Sat, 2pm on Sun

A heart-wrenching story of love and compassion about Father Damien de Veuster who lived among the lepers on Molokai Island. The play confronts his challenges of self-doubt and undying compassion towards what he originally describes as a dumping place for human beings.

“Damien is a heartrending portrait of a selfless priest determined not to let the lepers think that God has abandoned them.” - San Francisco Examiner

Visiting Mr. Green

A Presentation House Theatre & Chutzpah Festival co-production by Jeff Baron

February 10 - 27 @ 8pm Tues – Sat and 4pm Sat, 2pm on Sun

86 year old widower Mr. Green is almost hit by a car driven by young corporate executive Ross Gardiner. Found guilty of reckless driving, Ross is ordered to spend the next six months making weekly visits to Mr. Green. What starts off as a comedy about two people who resent being in the same room together develops into a gripping and poignant drama, as family secrets are revealed and old wounds are opened.

“One of the most-produced plays in the world”

A Beautiful View

Presentation House Theatre presents Ruby Slippers Theatre’s production of A Beautiful View by Daniel MacIvor

April 4 - 9 @ 8pm Tues – Sat and 4pm Sat

A Beautiful View is a seriocomic trek across the intangibles of love, and about our affinity for re-writing history in its name. Two women, both camping aficionados, meet while shopping for tents. Their connection informs their choices for the next two decades, culminating in a quiet note of tragicomedy. The production features the acting talents of Diane Brown and Colleen Wheeler, with direction by Daniel McIvor.

“The reason that I go to the theatre is that I hope to have experiences like the one I had at A Beautiful View.” – Colin Thomas, Georgia Straight

Belle of Amherst

by William Luce

May 10 – 21 @ 8pm Tues – Sat and 4pm Sat, 2pm on Sun

Step into the parlour for tea time with “The Myth”! The Belle of Amherst, the multi-award-winning one-woman play based on the writings and poetry the 19th-century reclusive genius Emily Dickinson will feature Renée Bucciarelli, whose work as a classical actress has enjoyed past praise from the New York Times. Come find out why charming Miss Dickinson, or “The Myth”, as she was called in her time, continues to be the inspiration of countless writers, musicians and artists, and is again the subject of several recently-published books.

“a touching and steadily absorbing evening even to those who know so little about the superb poet” – New York Post