THEATRE NEWS: Tarragon unveils spicy season
16 MAR/11

JOHN COULBOURN - QMI Agency

The Tarragon Theatre kicks off its 2011-12 season with a spicy little offering titled IN THE NEXT ROOM or the vibrator play, according to an announcement made Tuesday by artistic director Richard Rose and general manager Camilla Holland.

Written by Sarah Ruhl, IN THE NEXT ROOM will be directed in its Canadian première by Rose, in a co-production with the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, that is slated to hit the Tarragon mainstage next September. Also on tap for the Tarragon's mainstage season is the Toronto première of the latest work from playwright Hannah Moscovitch. Titled THE CHILDREN'S REPUBLIC, it will be co-produced with Harold Green Jewish Theatre and will be directed by Alisa Palmer, who also directed Moscovitch's EAST OF BERLIN for Tarragon.

Ross Manson, meanwhile, has been signed to direct Tarragon's Canadian première of Roland Schimmelpfennig's THE GOLDEN DRAGON, working from a translation by David Tushingham, while Weyni Mengesha will direct Carole Frechette's THE SMALL ROOM AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS, working from a translation by John Murrell. The mainstage season will close with a revival of Michel Tremblay's THE REAL WORLD?, translated by Tarragon founder Bill Glassco and John Van Burek, and directed by Rose.

Meanwhile, in the Extra Space, d'bi.young anitafrika will launch the the season with the world premiere of word! sound! powah!, which is slated to play in rep with two of her earlier works, blood.claat and benu, under the umbrella title, the sankofa trilogy. Also programmed by the Extra Space, the Toronto première of a new work by Daniel MacIvor, titled WAS SPRING, which will be directed by the playwright.

In the coming season, Rose has also programmed two productions in the company's upstairs studio space, which has now been designated the Extraextra Space. On tap there will be the world première of Andre Alexis' NAME IN VAIN (DECALOGUE TWO), under Rose's direction and Why Not Theatre's production of A BRIMFUL OF ASHA, co-written by Asha and Ravi Jain, who also directs.

Subscriptions and single tickets for the new season are slated to go on sale March 21. For further information, contact 416-531-1827.