Killing Game
WINNIPEG, MB – The University of Winnipeg’s Department of Theatre and Film opens its 2013/14 theatre season with Killing Game by Eugene Ionesco, in the translation by Helen Gary Bishop. The play is directed by Shelagh Carter and runs from November 26-30, 2013.
“We can’t all die, can we?” – First Man, excerpt from The Killing Game
A DEADLY PLAGUE GRASPS HOLD OF A SMALL TOWN.
EVERYONE IS DYING.
PANIC ENSUES, AND DEATH, THE FINAL LEVELER, TRANSFORMS A GOSSIPY PROVINCIAL WORLD INTO A MALESTROM OF HORROR.
EUGENE IONESCO has often been called “the Shakespeare of the Absurd” and in Killing Game he has created an outrageous and brutally dark, satirical comedy to explore the human condition. As the citizens of his fictional community drop dead, each scene confronts the audience with bizarre and inspired imagery depicting Ionesco’s contention that the Human Drama itself is as absurd as it is painful. In this production, our 4th-year Honours performance students invite us all to consider this absurdity through the portrayal of Ionesco’s characters and their desperate choices and actions, and, in the end, to choose hope over despair.
This production presents exhilarating challenges for UWinnipeg’s senior acting and production students. Each of the 11 actors takes on multiple roles. The student-built set is demanding and flexible, and the lighting is provocative. These elements accelerate through increasingly taut and anxious scenes as the play hurtles towards its inevitable conclusion. Props and costuming beautifully underscore the tone of the production – in turn comic and tragic, absurd and significant.
Set and costumes are designed by current student, Ksenia Broda-Milian; lighting is designed by recent UWinnipeg graduate Katherine Johnston.
Performances are Tuesday, November 26th through Friday, November 29th at 8:00 pm nightly, and Saturday, November 30th at 7:00 pm at the Gas Station Arts Centre (445 River Avenue). Admission is free but reservations are recommended. Please call our 24-hour Reservation Line at 204.786.9152, or visit UWinnipeg’s Department of Theatre and Film.
Based in the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film at The University of Winnipeg, the Department of Theatre and Film offers areas of study in Acting, Design, Drama in Education, Filmmaking, Playwriting, and Production/Stage Management. Our classes are small and our approach is practical. Our faculty is comprised of highly respected and award-winning professionals who are experienced teachers and remain active in their disciplines, bringing relevant and up-to-date instruction to our students.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Patty Hawkins, Dept. of Theatre and Film
The University of Winnipeg
T: 204.786.9955
p.hawkins@uwinnipeg.ca
Shelagh Carter, Dept. of Theatre and Film
The University of Winnipeg
T: 204.786-9489
s.carter@uwinnipeg.ca
