Staircase Theatre to Present LOVE LETTERS, 2/11-14

Staircase Theatre presents Love Letters, directed by Ryan Gladstone. Sweet and heartbreaking, Love Letters is the story of a 50-year correspondence between Melissa Gardner and her childhood friend-turned-love-interest, Andrew Makepeace Ladd III. Gurney's play, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, has been performed in theatre spaces all over the world, from the New York Public Library to Broadway to Carnegie Hall and back again. A smash hit both off and on Broadway, this limited Valentine's engagement includes appearances by real couples of the Vancouver theatre scene. Andrew and Melissa's story will be told by a different couple every night, including: Meghan Gardiner & Todd Thomson and Mack & Kaitlin Williams Gordon, Genevieve Fleming & Sean Harris Oliver and Michael Fera & Tanja Dixon-Warren. Love Letters runs from February 11-14 at The Shop.

In the age of instant communication, iPhones and Twitter, Love Letters brings memories of a simpler time. Through notes, letters and cards, two friends and would-be lovers, discuss the life that has passed between them throughout their separated lives. Simple and haunting, the playwright wrote Love Letters intending it to have a simple execution, not requiring any set or prior memorization. The letters are meant to be read out by the actors, and the audience invited to share in this authentic experience with the characters. Gurney write in the author's note: "The play is designed to be read aloud by an actor and actress of roughly the same age, sitting side by side at a table."

The two-character play takes the audience on an emotional ride through the lives of free-spirited Melissa Gardner and the conservative, law-abiding Andrew Makepeace Ladd III. Wealthy and privileged WASPs, they're lifelong friends and sometimes lovers who share their most intimate thoughts through 50 years of notes, cards and letters.

"In its oblique and unaffected way, Love Letters illustrates this universal truth: that so much of life, probably most of it, is a solitary journey, a letter we write only to ourselves.- Charles Isherwood, NY Times.

Director Ryan Gladstone has recently completed an MFA in Directing at UBC. Recent Directing credits Hunter Gatherers (Staircase Theatre), Ubu Roi, The Russian Play (UBC). Recent Writing/Directing credits include Who Killed Gertrude Crump?, Assassinating Thomson, Til Death: The Six Wives of Henry VIII, Houdini's Last Escape (Monster Theatre). Ryan founded Monster Theatre in 2000 and has since created 25 original plays as writer and sometimes actor, and sometimes director (No Tweed Too Tight, The Shakespeare Show, Hockey Night at the Puck & Pickle Pub, The Canada Show).

Staircase Theatre is a Vancouver-based, independent theatre company focused on the idea that theatre should stimulate the mind and the soul- with class, charm and polish. They provide intelligent, contemporary theatre that has not yet been staged in British Columbia and are committed to bringing emerging and established artists together for opportunities to learn and grow. Past shows include Peter Sinn Nachtrieb's Hunter Gatherers, Stewart Lemoine's Cocktails at Pam's, Lanford Wilson's Home Free, Evelyn Strange, and Will Eno's Oh the Humanity!

Entertainment/Theatre: Staircase Theatre presents Love Letters, directed by Ryan Gladstone Venue: The Shop, 125 E 2nd Avenue, Vancouver, BC | Map: http://goo.gl/OV5yEf Tickets: $20/$18 | Box Office: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/love-letters-by-ar-gurney-tickets-14939886603.

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