The Sidekick Players Club, Delta's award-winning theatre company, is offering a subscription series for its 2011/2012 season at the Tsawwassen Arts Centre.
Early bird subscriptions (purchased by Aug. 31) for the four-play series are $60 for adults and $48 for seniors/students. After Aug. 31, the prices rise to $65 and $55, respectively.
Sidekick's 15th season is packed with first-class entertainment and kicks off with the classic play, Twelve Angry Men, by Reginald Rose.
A 19-year-old man has just stood trial for the fatal stabbing of his father.
"He doesn't stand a chance," mutters the guard as he leads the jurors off to deliberate. It looks like an open-and-shut case... until one of the jurors begins opening the others' eyes to the facts.
"This is a remarkable thing about democracy," says the foreign-born juror, "that we are notified by mail to come down to this place and decide on the guilt or innocence of a man; of a man we have not known before. We have nothing to gain or lose by our verdict. We should not make it a personal thing."
But personal it does become, with each juror revealing his or her own character as the various testimonies are re-examined, the murder is re-enacted and a new murder threat is born before their eyes.
Tempers get short, arguments grow heated and the jurors become 12 angry men.
The final verdict and how it is reached, in tense scenes that will electrify the audience and keep them on the edge of their seats, add up to an exceptional piece of dramatic literature.
The Melville Boys by Canadian playwright, Norm Foster (who penned last season's production of The Foursome) will follow in the new year.
Owen and Lee Melville arrive at their uncle's lakeside cabin for a relaxing guys' getaway full of fishing, beer and football. But their plans are thrown for a loop when they meet two attractive sisters, who unwittingly change their weekend agenda - and life perspective.
A tenderly funny and unsentimental look at four lives in transition, The Melville Boys captures the essence of the human experience with a winning combination of vim and vigour. The right blend of comedy, character, plot and a touch of drama that comes dangerously close to (but never teeters into) melodrama.
March will bring Visiting Mr. Greene by Jeff Baron.
Eighty-six year-old widower Mr. Greene 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. Greene. 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.
Closing the season is Foster's The Affections of May.
After being deserted by her husband, a woman suddenly finds herself the centre of attention in a small resort town. It's easy to see why this is Foster's most popular play. It is funny, borders on farce, without crossing the line.
All plays are presented in a "bistro" setting for an enjoyable theatre experience.
Specials for early bird subscriptions: Buy two subscriptions and get three complimentary tickets for the season; buy one subscription and get one complimentary ticket.
Call 604-288-2415 to buy your subscription or send your name, address, phone number and subscription choice along with a cheque payable to The Sidekick Players Club to 5065 Stevens Dr., Delta, B.C., V4M 1N8.
