Two South Surrey actors are among the cast of It Was A Dark and Stormy Night, latest production of Ellie King's Royal Canadian Theatre Company, which flits into Surrey Arts Centre for a three-performance run Oct. 7-8.
Krystle Hadlow – well known from White Rock Players Club productions – plays the role of Belle, a key witness to a crime, while Stephen Fowler appears as salesman Smiling Sam in Tim Kelly's spoof of Hollywood 'old dark house' thrillers, presented as a tongue-in-cheek Halloween-season treat.
The show is part of Royal Canadian Theatre Company's second year of producing a three-play series at Surrey Arts Centre and the ACT Maple Ridge, and also has an extra stand-alone run at Metro Theatre in Vancouver.
Directed by RCTC founder and artistic director King, the comedy (which has been described as The Addams Family meets Arsenic and Old Lace) is set in Ye Olde Wayside Inn, Boston – home to the eccentric Saltmarsh family and haunted by the ghost of a Revolutionary War soldier.
When a storm forces strangers to take shelter in the inn, the chilling – or killing – time begins.
But not everyone is who they appear to be, and just who will survive this dark and stormy night is an open question.
Playing the three Saltmarsh cousins are RCTC regulars Steve Weller (in drag as Hepzibah), Jaqueline Becher (as Arabella) and Michael Charrois (as the dangerous Ebenezer), while Cloverdale's Jennifer Lane plays their very strange servant girl, Olive.
Also on the scene are a hard-nosed detective (Taz Kandwhani) several young nurses (Elyse Ritchie, Evelyn Clarke, Amy Goheen) two college students (Kay Lozada, Julian Legere) and a state trooper (Kevin Sloan).
While the play does have some slightly scary moments, RCTC says it's suitable for older children – and adults of any age.
Showtimes are 7:30 p.m., Oct. 7 and 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8.
Tickets ($10 to $28) are available at tickets.surrey.ca or by calling 604-501-5566.