Rehearsals are ramping up, sets are lining up, props are piling up and soon lights will go up on Village of Idiots, a tragi-comic play by well-known Canadian playwright John Lazarus.
Expect to be entertained. The Hexagon Players pride themselves in the work they have dedicated to this play, and we want to share it with our community. We guarantee laughter. We guarantee some serious consideration — as Seymour Levitan asked about the UBC production of the play, “Is this benign wonderland innocent or suicidal, ethically admirable or passive and cowardly?”
There is a respected tradition of Yiddish folktales in which good and simple Jewish folk solve their problems in ways that defy good sense and rationality. In this folkloric world, villagers may be impractical but they are always hopeful. They may be ill-prepared to tackle the evil forces of their world but they know how to embrace chopped liver and wine. They may not have much military intelligence but their emotional intelligence just might win out.
Village has a large cast: Ali George, Tim Miller, Galadriel Rael, Carol VanR, Ingrid Zaiss Baetzel, Anna Rose, Robert Agnew, Sandra Bernier, Michelle Moss, Gus and Grace George, Zyan Fukushima-Rael, Felix Wedge-Darchen, Jacqueline Wedge, Kate Page, Lea Belcourt and Janet Wallace. Crewmembers include Sara Cadeau, Theo and Chris Artzoglou, Mauz Kroker and Doreen Zaiss.
The play will see the light of night on Jan. 20 and 21 in the Crawford Bay Elementary Secondary School Theatre. Doors will open 7:30 p.m. and be locked at 8 pm sharp. We will start promptly.
Give yourself ample time to stake your claim on good seats. We can accommodate 90 audience members per night and highly recommend buying your tickets before the date of performance. There may be a few tickets left at the door, but don’t count on it.
Because the play is two hours in length and not appropriate for babies or small restless children, we need to limit our audience to those who have no ants in their pants — or diapers.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 students and seniors, available at Crawford Bay Store, Gray Creek Store and Riondel Market.
— BY DOREEN ZAISS