Citadel Announces 2018/19 Season: MATILDA, MISS BENNET: CHRISTMAS AT PEMBERLEY and More!

Artistic Director Daryl Cloran unveiled his 2018/19 season today, inviting audiences to ReImagine the stories, perspectives, and characters that come alive on the Citadel stages.

The new season kicks off September 22, 2018, with the energetic musical Once in the Shoctor Theatre. An Irish musician is on the brink of giving up, when a young Czech woman takes a sudden interest in his love songs. Dora Award-nominated director Ann Hodges will direct this unforgettable story of going for your dreams and the power of music to connect us all. Once is based on the award-winning film by John Carney, with a book by Enda Walsh and music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová.

The first Add-On production of the season is Redpatch, the story of a young Metis soldier in the Western Front of Europe during WWI. The run of the show coincides with the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. Written by Raes Calvert and Sean Harris Oliver, and featuring a cast of Indigenous performers, this production took Vancouver by storm last season, receiving six Jessie Award nominations. Our production, which will take place in the Maclab Theatre, is a partnership with the Arts Club Theatre Company and Hardline Productions.

Miss Bennet: Christmas At Pemberley is a witty, fun, "sequel" to the Jane Austen classic, Pride and Prejudice. Written by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon, this story focuses on Mary, the bookish, often over-looked middle child, as she navigates a potential romance with Darcy's smart but awkward cousin Arthur. Directed by multiple Sterling Award nominee, and Edmonton favourite, Nancy McAlear, this clever, inventive production will take place in the Shoctor Theatre.

And, of course, we'll stage Tom Wood's magnificent adaptation of the Dicken's classic, A Christmas Carol, in the Maclab Theatre. In its 19th consecutive year, A Christmas Carol, directed by Wayne Paquette, continues to be a beloved Yuletide tradition for Edmonton families.

2019 starts in the Shoctor Theatre with the acclaimed drama Sweat, by Lynn Nottage. Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Sweat is set in a working class bar in steel town Reading, Pennsylvania, as people face the loss of their jobs and friendships in light of factory relocations to Mexico and labour unrest. This production, directed by Betty Mitchell award-nominated director Valerie Planche, is a partnership with Vancouver's Arts Club Theatre Company.

Next is the hilarious and inspiring musical Matilda, based on the beloved Roald Dahl book. Winner of 50 international awards, it's the story of an extraordinary girl who dares to take a stand and change her destiny. Daryl Cloran will direct this magical story on the Shoctor stage, with choreography by Kimberley Rampersad, and music direction by Don Horsburgh. This production is a partnership with Arts Club Theatre Company and Winnipeg's Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

Our season includes not one, but TWO World Premieres by Kat Sandler, one of Canada's most innovative playwrights. The Candidate plays in the Maclab Theatre, showing in tandem with our Add-On Production The Party, which plays in The Club. In these fast-paced, frenzied comedies, members of the cast race back and forth between the two theatres to appear in two different shows running simultaneously. In The Candidate, a politician poised for national victory must scramble to avoid a scandal. The Party is an immersive production, in which the audience are guests at a political fundraising party where secrets are revealed and scandals are set in motion. Both shows will be directed by Kat Sandler and Daryl Cloran.

The season will close with an innovative reimagining of Shakespeare's The Tempest, featuring the participants of the Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program. This production will be directed by Josette Bushell-Mingo, Artistic Director of Tyst Teater, Sweden's National Deaf Theatre, and will feature Deaf and hearing actors onstage together. The Citadel is proud to partner with SOUND OFF, Canada's national festival for Deaf performing arts (based here in Edmonton). The Citadel will also partner with Calgary's MAMMOTH VR to integrate interactive digital media with live performance in this production. It will be a truly unique retelling of Shakespeare's most magical comedy. The Tempest will take place in Shoctor Theatre.

The Citadel is also excited to announce that we are partnering with internationally renowned Why Not Theatre for the 2018/19 Citadel/Banff Centre Professional Theatre Program. We are thrilled to welcome award-winning director Ravi Jain as the new Director of the Citadel/Banff program. Ravi and his company, Why Not Theatre, will curate the 2018/19 program, bringing an international focus to our teaching and training.

We're also delighted to give you a sneak peek at two of the innovative presentations that are part of our 2018/19 Beyond the Stage series. April 30 to May 5, 2019, we'll present Nassim, the exciting new work by Iranian playwright, Nassim Soleimanpour (author of the international hit White Rabbit, Red Rabbit). No rehearsals, no preparation: Just a sealed envelope and a different actor every night reading a script for the first time. And, in March 2019, we welcome Slight of Mind, an immersive, site-specific work developed by Theatre Yes as part of their residency at the Citadel. A one-of-a-kind theatre experience, created by one of Edmonton's most innovative theatre companies, taking place throughout the Citadel Theatre complex.

And, for the first time, our subscribers will be able to renew their season ticket packages online!

The Citadel's 2018/19 Season is full of bold characters, theatrical innovation, and stories seen through a new lens. We hope you'll join us to ReImagine what theatre can be!

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