Past Productions
October 31st to November 9th, 2025
Frank and Percy
“No one tells you how stretchy love can be.”
Join us this fall for Frank and Percy – a sharp, touching, and unexpectedly funny love story about life, death and dogs.
“Frank and Percy is about connections in all their complicated, beautiful forms,” says director Tony Cain. “It’s about finding someone who sees you–even when you think the moment for that has passed.”
Written by Ben Weatherhill, Frank and Percy originally premiered at the Royal Windsor Theatre in July 2023 starring Roger Allam and Sir Ian McKellen. With charm, wit, pride – and an enduring passion for puppies – Frank and Percy centres on the unexpected relationship that blossoms between two older men while walking their dogs on Hampstead Heath. Deftly weaving the awkward spaces between sharp comedy and touching vulnerability, Frank and Percy is a life-affirming tale about identity, friendship and “funny ways we scrape together a family”.
Attitude Theatre is proud to bring the Canadian Premier of Frank and Percy to the stage through the talents of veteran actors, Malcolm Harvey and Jim Forsythe.
“It’s a play very relevant to Victoria,” adds Cain, “and represents the true spirit of Attitude Theatre, where we are privileged to present stories that shift society’s perceptions and narratives, and amplify under-heard voices.”
All performances at SKAM Satellite Studio, 849 Fort Street
Attitude Theatre – Where Attitude Meets Opportunity...
Preview Thurs, Oct 24 – 7:30
Saturday, Oct 26 – 7:30pm
Sunday, Oct 27 – 2pm/7:30pm
Thursday, Oct 31 – 7:30pm
Friday, Nov 1 – 7:30pm
Saturday, Nov 2 – 7:30pm
Sunday, Nov 3 – 2pm/7:30pm
@ Paul Phillips Hall
1923 Fernwood Road, Victoria BC
October 26th to November 3rd, 2024
Switzerland
by Joanna Murray-Smith
“The past sits on our shoulder taunting us. Challenging us. To murder it.”
She was best-selling and she was brilliant. With The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith once created one of the greatest literary characters of the 20th century: terrifying, enigmatic, complex, human. A bit like her really.
These days, she’s living as a recluse in the Swiss Alps. She’s done with writing, having firmly slammed the door on the Dead White Males of the American literary establishment. She fills her days with cats and show tunes, chain-smoking as she nurses her ever-growing collection of antique weapons.
But, now, there is a young man standing in her study. He’s been sent by her publisher to convince her to pen one last Tom Ripley novel. And he’s not going to take no for an answer.
What starts as a simple game of cat and mouse becomes a breathtaking battle of wits as Highsmith and her visitor interrogate identity and the art of creation. Crackling with intelligence and bristling with tension, this enthralling meta-thriller is a white-knuckle ride to the finish.
“This tense, sharp-witted two-hander, set in the twilight years of novelist Patricia Highsmith, slips a pointed interrogation of the nature of fiction writing into the kind of psychological thriller Highsmith was famous for.”
THE SUNSET LIMITED
by Cormac McCarthy
November 2023
In a small apartment in Harlem (or perhaps in Purgatory) a black ex-convict street preacher tries to convince an atheist professor of humanities that life is worth living and God loves him. The professor argues that existence is meaningless, death is desirable, and oblivion the only reasonable goal. The preacher is named Black, the professor White. We don’t know their actual names. Black caught White in his arms just as he tried to jump in front of a subway train (or perhaps just after). Black found faith in God after almost dying in a prison fight. White’s faith in high culture and humanism has dissolved in his contempt for his fellow man. Can they find common ground? Can both be saved?
Directed by Kevin Stinson
Featuring Willis Taylor and Eric Grace
Produced by Tony Cain and Rasanga Weerasinghe
Venue: Paul Phillips Hall, Fernwood
November 3rd, 4th at 8pm
November 5th at 2pm.
November 10th, 11th at 8pm
November 12th at 2pm
Photography and Poster Design by
Rasanga Weerasinghe
Talking Heads
by Alan Bennett
March 2023
Bed Among the Lentils featuring Lorene Cammiade
Synopsis: Susan, a vicar’s wife, alcoholic troubled with a disappointing life, questions her faith in Christianity and her loveless marriage to Geoffrey, a sanctimonious, self-absorbed cleric preoccupied with his ambition for promotion in the Anglican Church. Susan finds comfort, affection and compassion with an Asian grocer that turns into a love affair with the exquisitely delicate and polite Mr Ramesh. Susan shares with us her perspective on the contrast between Hinduism and Anglicanism. This is the very best of the Talking Heads monologues rich in pathos and comedy. A story of alcoholism, forbidden love and the journey of a tortured soul ending with a terribly moving confession.
A Lady of Letters featuring Elizabeth Whitmarsh
Synopsis: Irene Ruddock is an ordinary middle-aged woman, living alone and devotes her time to letter writing to anyone in the community complaining, criticizing, and sometimes offending people like her local MP, the police and even the Queen. Miss Ruddock as she likes to be addressed is warned by the authorities to cease her disruptive and inflammatory correspondence upsetting the public. The local constabulary has received reports that she caused the nervous breakdown of the lollipop man when she accused him of abusing schoolchildren and called the chemist’s wife a prostitute. Two local doctors prescribe antidepressant pills but she flushes them down the toilet because ” they are not doing the trick “. Social workers are assigned to help Miss Ruddock find a more positive outlook on life. Eventually, Miss Ruddock launches a new letter-writing campaign that targets the police. The result is a disaster for Irene Ruddock of the worst kind or is it?
Directed by: Tony Cain
Theatre: Paul Philips Hall Fernwood
LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL
by Lanie Robertson
September/October 2022
A full-length musical drama where jazz and theatre merge in a tribute to one of the greatest jazz legends, Billie Holiday.The time is 1959. The place is Emerson’s bar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The audience is about to witness one of Billie Holiday’s last performances. More than a dozen songs are interlaced with salty, often humorous stories and reflections to project a riveting portrait of the lady and her music.
STARRING:Rosemary Jeffery as Billie Holiday, Jason Jeffrey as Emerson
FEATURING: Pianist Attila Fias as Jimmy Powers, Bassist Joey Smith
Angela Henry – Director
Dani Parkinson – Co Director
Kim Greenwood – Music Director
LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals.
THE DUCK VARIATIONS
by David Mamet
April – May 2022
Pulitzer Prize winning author, David Mamet’s profoundly funny rumination on life, death and ducks comes to James Bay!
Ira Shorr and David Biltek play charming curmudgeons, enthusiastically sharing misinformation on a lakeside bench, in what The Guardian has called
“A Brilliant Little Play”.
A rarely produced but treasured early play of Mamet, inspired by his listening to the conversations of his Jewish grandfather and friends. A warm, comical and philosophical take on the mysteries of the universe.
David Mamet is one of the most prolific and influential playwrights of the latter-20th century, Mamet has also written a host of feature films including the screenplay adaption of his Pulitzer Prize winning play, Glengarry, Glen, Ross.
Directed by: Tony Cain
Featuring: David Biltek and Ira Shorr
Until The Flood
Oct, Nov, Dec 2021
Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith – Attitude Theatre, Langham Court Theatre and Bēma Productions are pleased to announce a collaborative project.
Until the Flood is a compassionate and provocative play written in response to the 2014 killing of a young black man, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missouri, by a white police officer. It is the culmination of numerous interviews conducted in the St. Louis area by the playwright in the aftermath of the shooting.
The characters are composites of the actual citizens interviewed, reflecting diverse perspectives and the play illuminates the impact that a single tragic event can have on an individual and the broader community.
Content Warning: Graphic and racist language is used throughout this play, with some possible triggering scenes describing physical abuse and violence.
TALKING HEADS
by Alan Bennett
Nov 18, 21 2021
Attitude Theatre and Theatre Carpe Diem present Alan Bennett’s TALKING HEADS
Two eccentric, funny, and touching one-act monologues!
HER BIG CHANCE, Directed by Wendy Gail starring Dierdre Tipping.
A CHIP IN THE SUGAR, Directed by Merry Hallsor starring Malcolm Harvey.
BRILLIANT TRACES
by Cindy Lou Johnson
OCT 29 – NOV 2 2019
There are some plays that I have seen or read that seem to haunt me like stories that I need to tell. Cindy Lou Johnson’s Brilliant Traces had been sitting on my shelf nagging me over a decade. It is a rollercoaster of a play about a man and a woman thrown together in the confines of a cabin trapped by a raging snowstorm and having to come to terms with each other’s temperaments. I was drawn to the exploration of two strangers thrown together, both seriously flawed characters, and constantly taunting each other to openly reveal their demons. A compelling journey of conflict, love, and mutual healing between a man and a woman illuminating how we live today.I was blessed with a talented cast that always brought energy and innovative creativity to every rehearsal. Ursula Szkolak as Rosannah Deluce brought a tenacity and drive that opens the play with such an explosive entrance that the audience never gets time to recover. Brian Quakenbush playing the role of Henry Harry created a tortured lost soul, a sad recluse, living a futile solitary existence desperately trying to cope with the guilt of a tragic loss. I was helped by my sound designer Mitch Barnes who created a wonderfully haunting dreamlike atmosphere. As always, Michael Gosselin, our co- founder, director/producer and you name it, was present to give support and advice to our actors when I was not available and guide the production crew.
“Brilliant acting. Brilliant direction. Really great theatre.” – Penny Costen Pitcher
SHAKESPEARE’S WILL
DEC 28,29,30,31 – 2018
I chose Vern Thiessen’s piece for many reasons. I wanted Attitude Theatre Victoria to come out of the gate with a bold, daring energy that would engage the audience full on. When I first read Shakespeare’s Will I was immediately aware that this was a play for an actor that had the stamina that could command the stage for over an hour without a break. Thiessen’s portrait of Anne Hathaway covered a whole range of emotional complexities. The actor would have to learn to dance a Galliard, sing 16th century songs, play multiple characters both male and female, and to command the attention of the audience to perform at an unrelenting pace. Rosemary Jeffery was brilliant in the role. There were some minor obstacles namely I wanted a “ theatre in the round “ style that the actor and co director were not familiar with. Very soon Rosemary learned the technique of moving around the space with grace and precision and developed the skill in using the “ Voms “ ( Vomitoriums ) to deliver the text.
Vern Thiessen wrote the whole play in “ blank verse “ and included a sonnet (145) to be recited, so we took the time to learn all about “ iambic pentameter “ and how to deliver text in verse. The Elizabethan songs chosen by Tim Watters were performed by Rosemary with such pathos and passion that every performance produced tears from our audiences. The text required the actor to interpret the voices and movements of a dozen different characters including Will Shakespeare, Anne’s son Hamnet, the two daughters, Susanah and Judith.
I am full of admiration for Rosemary’s extraordinary energy and hard work and total commitment that she brought to this project. Without my co-director Michael Gosselin, his creative energy and countless hours working with Rosemary through the many demanding scenes and the knowledge, expertise, and care that Tim Watters devoted to the sound design and musical choices. Sylvia Hosie, our choreographer guided Rosemary through the blocking of the childbirth scene and coached the intricate dance steps for the Galliard. Without this kind of collaboration we would not have realised such a compelling, tour de force production. Indeed, the team work on this production made it one of the most memorable productions I have been involved in.