Walterdale Playhouse

Walterdale Playhouse brings you into Jonathan Harvey’s tale of two boys, who, in the middle of the dreary, bleak setting of a London council estate, discover sparks of life and love, with Beautiful Thing. Enveloped in a simple, beautiful story about a myriad of relationships – family, romance and friendship, we meet Jamie and Ste who discover the different levels of love and trust.

Jamie has a crush on classmate Ste. When Ste is badly beaten by his brother, he stays over with Jamie and his mother Sandra. In the absence of a third bed, Jamie and Ste begin their journey sleeping top-to-toe. Meanwhile Jamie’s mother, Sandra, begins a tenuous journey with a troublesome neighbour, Leah.

“For me, Beautiful Thing is about love; a realistic love,” says Justen Bennett, Director of Beautiful Thing. “Those simple, small loves that you have. This is a story set against a harsh, urban background with working class characters that are proud, stubborn, and not always nice to one another. The love in this play doesn’t inspire a dramatic change, but brings a small spark of life and hope to people who don’t always have a lot of hope. Beautiful Thing reminds us, even in the harshest of surroundings, how simple, pure, and tender love can be.”

Justen Bennett is an emerging local director, actor, and sometime playwright. Most recently, he wrote and directed Addition: An Unconventional Love Story at the 2009 Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival.

Beautiful Thing runs February 10 – 20 at 8 pm with a 2 pm matinee (only) on Sunday, February 14. Tickets range in price from $12 to $16 and are now on sale at TIX on the Square, (780) 420.1757 or online at www.tixonthesquare.ca. They can also be purchased at the door (cash only) one-hour prior to performance.

Monday, February 8 is Student Night.

Thursday, February 11, is 2-for-1 Thursday! Bring a friend and enjoy the show.

Cast

Filed under: Uncategorized on January 7th, 2010 | No Comments »

Check out the video AND our Artistic Director, Kristen Finlay’s story about moving to Edmonton at http://www.edmontonstories.ca/story/spring-2005.

Share your Walterdale story in the comments!

Filed under: Uncategorized on December 21st, 2009 | No Comments »

Congratulations to the following playwrights: Andy Garland and Jim Herchak.  Their scripts Sea of Green and Kiss Within a Kiss (respectively) were selected for dramaturgy and production for this year’s From Cradle to Stage.  Andy will be working with Brian Dooley and Jim will be working with Tracy Carroll.   There will also be a staged reading of Uncle Robert’s Funeral written by Erin Foster O’Riordan.

Congratulations to all the playwrights who submitted this year!  The Panel was overwhelmed and impressed with the talent evident in the 23 entries they received.

Filed under: Uncategorized on November 4th, 2009 | No Comments »

Walterdale Theatre Associates would like to thank the Government of Alberta for its support through the Community Spirit Donation Grant Program.  Funds received through this program were used to help with some repairs to our building (Walterdale Playhouse) as well as some equipment.  Funds received also helped to offset the costs of purchasing a new sound board for the booth and new sewing machines for our volunteers in the costume department.

Filed under: Uncategorized on October 6th, 2009 | No Comments »

The 2009-2010 Season entitled We are Walterdale - Welcome to the next fifty years… under the direction of Artistic Director Kristen M. Finlay has been announced.  Check out Current Season for more details.

Ticket information, including information on the new Flex Pass can be found under Tickets.

Come help us kick off the next 50 years!

Filed under: Uncategorized on August 13th, 2009 | No Comments »

Welcome to Walterdale Playhouse.
Walterdale Playhouse, at 51 years old, is one of Western Canada’s oldest amateur theatre groups. With the exception of a paid part-time Administrator, Waltedale Playhouse is operated entirely by volunteers with a love of theatre; members of any age and background have the unique opportunity to participate in all aspects of live theatre.

During its 50th anniversary, Walterdale Theatre Associates launched a major fundraising initiative, 50 years of Footlights, to fund both a permanent record of Walterdale’s history and major renovations to preserve the current location of Walterdale Playhouse.

Walterdale Playhouse is raising significant funds to enable needed renovations and enhancements to allow us to provide an outstanding and entertaining environment for volunteers and patrons. We have recently set up online donations through CanadaHelps.org. If you would like to make a payment using a credit card or PayPal, you may use this service. We still take donations through TIX on the Square, by mail, and through our donation box located next to the concession in the theatre. Thank you to everyone who has made a contribution by volunteer hours, support and monetary means.

We have set up online donations through CanadaHelps.org. If you would like to make a payment using a credit card or PayPal, you may use this service. We still take donations through Tix on the Square, by mail, and through our donation box located next to the concession in the theatre. Thank you to everyone who has made a contribution by volunteer hours, support and monetary means.

Filed under: Uncategorized on February 28th, 2009 | No Comments »