From a story about superheroes in a shopping mall storefront to a bus trip around the city and a mystery in a parking lot, Halifax theatre companies are stepping out of traditional theatre spaces in more significant numbers.
The latest company to make a move to a non-traditional venue is Steady Theatre, which is presenting James Reaney’s Listen to the Wind at the Jonathan McCully Mansion in Halifax’s North End.
For producers Kirsten Bruce and Julia Schultz, who also directs, it was a natural choice to use the restored National Historic Site as the location for Reaney’s play about four children who mount a production of a fictional Victorian novel.
“The play, with lightness and grace, explores themes of death, love, family, separated parents, and nostalgia for our childhood dreams and aspirations,” said the company in a media release. “Come relive the memories of when summer days felt impossibly long, and August slipped away too swiftly when four chairs [could] be anything.”
Halifax Presents contributing editor Mark Robins was at the McCully Mansion as the company prepared for opening night. In this Facebook Live event, he chats with Listen to the Wind director & co-producer Julia Schultz and co-producer Kirsten Schultz to find out more.
Listen to the Wind plays at the Jonathan McCully Mansion (2507 Brunswick St, Halifax) until February 8 before moving to the Maritime Conservatory (6199 Chebucto Rd, Halifax) for a single performance on February 9. You can get tickets and more information at tickethalifax.com.