Soulpepper Theatre Announces 2018 Summer Season

Soulpepper Theatre Company today announced programming details for the 2018 summer season line-up which includes three plays as well as an exciting concert series.

Beginning in July, the season features the World Premiere of Rosamund Small's Sisters, based on Edith Wharton's pioneering novella; the Canadian Premiere of Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's masterpiece Orlando; and Mark Crawford's sweet summer comedy Bed and Breakfast.

The popular Soulpepper Concerts Series returns with a new, original concert The 27 Club, delving into the intriguing mythology around famous artists such as Amy Winehouse who passed away at age twenty-seven. Audiencefavourites The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience and A Moveable Feast: Paris in the '20s will return. All with musical direction from Slaight Family Director of Music, Mike Ross.

"This season is a perfect summer-long microcosm of what Soulpepper does best. A new generation of artists is reinterpreting great masters, with a line-up of plays and concerts that are collaborations between new and familiar faces. The resulting programming asks riveting questions, stirs the soul, and is, of course, lots of fun. Alongside our great spring programming, we're inviting audiences to join us on an important journey at Soulpepper." said Alan Dilworth, Acting Artistic Director.

"I fell in love with the story of Orlando quickly. Virginia Woolf's prismatic imagination and Sarah Ruhl's ability inhonouring that magic make it a mind-bending study of life and desire. The piece bravely looks at how we choose to live, and whether or not that choice is in line with our truth. If time and gender are freed from their definitions, what might we become?" said Director Katrina Darychuk on her connection to the play.

"I find myself reading into the story of the Bunner Sisters a sense of frustration with the institution of marriage, with the power of men, with the general dreariness of the characters' day to day lives. All these women live in a domestic world that's too small and too limited, and there's a pulsing, urgent undertone of desire to be free." Playwright Rosamund Small shares the inspiration for her adaptation Sisters.

Previously announced Spring programming includes: Innocence Lost: A Play About Steven Truscott by Beverly Cooper, directed by Jackie Maxwell; Ma Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson, directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu; La Bête by David Hirson, directed by Tanja Jacobs;and After The Blackout, written and directed by Judith Thompson, in partnership with RARE Theatre Company. Soulpepper will be announcing its 2018-2019 season in the coming months.

Exclusive ticket access for subscribers is available as of March 27. Single tickets go on sale May 1. For more details, visit soulpepper.ca or call the Young Centre Box Office at 416.866.8666.

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JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2018: MAINSTAGE PROGRAMMING

Orlando
Virginia Woolf
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Katrina Darychuk

How many lifetimes does it take to find love? Destined to never age, Orlando's fantastical journey crosses continents, centuries, and genders to find true happiness in this new adaptation of Virginia Woolf's timeless masterpiece by one of today's most celebrated playwrights.

The Canadian Premiere of Orlando runs from July 6 to 29, 2018. Opening night is July 11, 2018.

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Bed and Breakfast
Mark Crawford
Directed by Ann-Marie Kerr

When Brett inherits the family home, he and Drew move out of fast-paced Toronto to set up a B&B in a picturesque tourist town. But will these big city boys face friction in their new community? With dozens of hilarious characters, all portrayed by two actors, Bed and Breakfast is a heartwarming comedy about "being out" in small town Ontario, family skeletons in the closet, and finding a place to call home.

Bed and Breakfast runs from August 11 to September 2, 2018. Opening night is August 16, 2018.

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Sisters
Rosamund Small
Based on the Edith Wharton novel Bunner Sisters
Directed by Peter Pasyk

It's the turn of the century and Anne and Eveline have created a little corner for themselves in New York. When a handsome clockmaker comes to call, the powerful bonds of sisterhood are put to the test. Inspired by Pulitzer Prize- winner Edith Wharton's pioneering novella, Sisters shows us hidden heroism in everyday life.

The World Premiere of Sisters runs from August 23 to September 16, 2018. Opening night isAugust 29, 2018.

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JULY TO SEPTEMBER 2018: SOULPEPPER CONCERTS

Each original Soulpepper Concert revolves around a time, place, or artist crafted by a team of incomparable performers. The Concert Series is led by Slaight Family Director of Music Mike Ross.

The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience
Music Directed by Mike Ross

One of Soulpepper's most Popular Productions returns celebrating the legacy of Leonard Cohen. An extraordinary line-up of Toronto musicians brings his timeless words and music to life in a way you've never heard them before.

The Secret Chord: A Leonard Cohen Experience runs from July 7 to 29, 2018.

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The 27 Club
Music Directed by Mike Ross

From Janis Joplin to Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain to Amy Winehouse - the list of great musicians who have tragically left us at the young age of 27 is staggering - and unsettling. Mike Ross leads a group of artists to explore their music, stories and legacies.

The 27 Club runs from July 14 to 28, 2018.

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A Moveable Feast: Paris in the '20s
Music Directed by Mike Ross

Soulpepper's sold-out concert returns. You're invited to post-war Paris, the global capital of art, music, literature, and Baccanalia! Artists like Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Picasso, and Josephine Baker shaped a new era of modernity, and set the stage for the Lost Generations of musicians who followed.

A Moveable Feast: Paris in the '20s runs from September 14 to 23, 2018.

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Located in its multi-venue home, the Young Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto's Distillery Historic District, Soulpepper is Toronto's largest not-for-profit theatre company. Founded and guided by artists, Soulpepper has an integrated mission which includes: industry-leading youth and community outreach initiatives; artist training and mentorship programs; and a year-round diverse repertory season which is grounded in the classics and committed to the creation of new works, new forms, and innovative practices. Tickets to Soulpepper productions are available by calling the Young Centre Box Office at 416.866.8666 or by visiting soulpepper.ca.

The artists and staff of Soulpepper and the Young Centre for the Performing Arts acknowledge the original caretakers and storytellers of this land - the Mississaugas of the New Credit, the Haudenosaunee, the Anishinaabe, and the Wendat First Nations. We commit to honouring and celebrating their past, present and future.

Soulpepper believes all people have a right to express their individuality, to experience creative freedom, to feel safe at all times, and to be treated with dignity and respect.

Tickets for Soulpepper productions start at $35. Tickets for Soulpepper Concerts start at $25. $20 tickets for Soulpepper productions are available for arts workers. $20 StagePlay tickets for under-30 year-olds are available at soulpepper.ca/stageplay, sponsored by TD Bank Group. Youth 21 years old and under can access free tickets online via the MyPlay Program presented by Sun Life Financial: visit soulpepper.ca/myplay for more details. Rush tickets are often available, call the Box Office for more details. are offered one hour before most performances (in person), subject to availability. All ticket prices include a Young Centre facility fee, service charge and HST. Pricing is subject to change.

Soulpepper gratefully acknowledges annual operating support from the Ontario Arts Council, the Toronto Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts. Soulpepper is pleased to recognize the donors of transformational gifts to its Creative Capital Campaign: The Michael Young Family Foundation; The Slaight Family; The Government of Ontario; Gail Drummond and Bob Dorrance; Kevin and Roger Garland; Eleanor and Francis Shen; Ada Slaight; and Richard Wernham & Julia West. Support for all Music Programming is provided by the Slaight Family through the Slaight Family Music Program. Lead Support for the Soulpepper Academy is provided by the Michael and Karen Vukets Family Foundation, with additional support from the RBC Foundation, Hal Jackman Foundation, and the Canada Arts Training Program at the Department of Canadian Heritage

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