By Roger White

Curtain rises on theatrefest tonight

Apr 24, 2017 | 8:26 AM

The stage is set, lines rehearsed and lights are ready to shine on Theatrefest 2017 happening all week long at the Dekker Centre in North Battleford.

The week long competitive theatre festival kicks off tonight with the Battleford’s Community Players’ adaptation Of the Fields Lately by award-winning playwright David French.

“This is a terrific play to start the competition off with,” Donna Challis, chair of the festival committee said. “David French is one of those writers who can intertwine tragedy and comedy together effortlessly.”

Director Jim Wall echoed Challis’s sentiments.

“It’s a very realistic portrayal that balances every emotion; love, anger, pride, regret, loss and hope,” Wall said. “This is a very powerful and challenging drama, carefully crafted to reveal the beauty and despair of family life.”

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Of the Fields Lately is set in Toronto in 1961 and features the Mercer family whom appear in many of French’s plays. The Mercers are a family in crisis as son Ben returns home for a family funeral to find his father Jacob Mercer in ill-health and the turmoil beings.

This year’s Theatrefest is a joint celebration commemorating 65 consecutive years of live theatre in the Battlefords area as well as the 85th anniversary of Theatre Saskatchewan Inc.

Theatrefest 2017 will have performances from theatre troupes from Regina, Swift Current, Cochin, Melfort. The tale Spinners will also join the Battlefords Community Players — the host troupe.

Tickets for all six performances are $80 plus taxes or $20 for a single show. Tickets are available at the Dekker Centre box office or Theatre Saskatchewan or Dekker Centre websites.

roger.white@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW