In all honesty, a story about homosexuality that doesn’t end in tragedy is always a relief to me. As Michael of Mart Crowley’s The Boys in the Band states, real life is not like a stage play: “Not all faggots bump themselves off at the end of the story.” I am  hoping that we can bring this play to you filled with emotion but without being over the top or cartoonish. I always look for deep, emotional hooks in the pieces we do and a high level of social relevance. The Boys in the Band delivers on both fronts. I was surprised how much of the play’s subject matter remained relevant. I'd seen the movie many years ago and fell in love with the characters. I've had copies of the play floating around my house for ages now and would occasionally read some of my favourite parts. I've said for a few years now that I'd love to direct it but it took my a long time to work out why. What could my style of directing bring to this play that others couldn't? 

The setting is Harold’s birthday party. The planned cocktail evening is disrupted when Michael's old college buddy Alan calls to say he needs to come over. While most of the characters in The Boys in the Band are gay Alan is straight and the resulting collision allows for a discussion of closet cases, aging, self-hate, infidelity, promiscuity and feeling comfortable in the company of yourself. All these delicious and delicate topics make for quick-fire dialogue, unrepeatable smut and a dark emotional underbelly of anxiety that can't fully be contained by the piss-elegant airs and semi-confident facades of the boys.

I hope we can minimize or eliminate the perceived distance which people tell themselves separates the audience from this groundbreaking 1968 play. This is a candid, pre-Stonewall self-portait of the gay North American man... and it's not as far off from now as we'd like to say or think it is. 

The Boys in the Band is a witty, funny, and refreshingly tart play. Our cast is stellar, our crew is impeccable and we hope to see you June 23rd-July1st at the Atelier!

Cast;
Michael - Brendan Kinnon
Donald - Aaron Bergeron
Emory - Darius Rathe
Larry - Heath Camlis
Hank - Sam Biskey
Bernard - Jamar Adams-Thomspon
Cowboy - Ryan Marrin
Harold - Isaiah Kolundzic
Alan - Aaron Hrastovec

Look for meet the cast and crew posts/interviews soon!