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White Rock Players present first live production during pandemic

Limited audience staged reading of The Humans to follow COVID-19 protocols
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White Rock Players Club will present its first live on-stage production since the declaration of the COVID-19 state of emergency.

But, according to a media release, the three-performance run of Stephen Karam’s Tony award-winning drama The Humans (Aug. 20-22 at the White Rock Playhouse) will feature a different approach to theatre for the club, in keeping with the continuing pandemic situation.

Directed by Rebekah MacEwan – frequently featured in previous WRPC productions as an actor – the play will be presented in ‘readers’ theatre’ format: as a dramatic reading by physically distanced actors, with scripts in hand, and minimal staging.

Auditorium seating will be limited to 50 people for each performance (at $10 per ticket), there will be no intermission or concession (although complimentary bottled water will be provided) and other COVID-19 protocols will be in place for the protection of patrons, actors and volunteers.

Audience members will be asked to wear masks and, according to the WRPC website, seating is available in a random assortment of groups of two, three and four (the seating layout will provide a minimum six-foot separation between parties).

The Humans, judged best play at the 2016 Tonys, takes place during a family Thanksgiving dinner in a downstairs two-level apartment in lower Manhattan.

Erik Blake (Andy Wood) has brought his wife Dierdre (Michelle Collier) and mother (Patte Rust), to the apartment of his youngest daughter, Brigid (Jenessa Galbraith), who has just moved into the quirky space with her boyfriend Richard (CTC award nominee Reginald Pillay).

Also participating in the dinner is Brigid’s older sister Aimee (Janine Guy, also a CTC nominee), a lawyer trying to maintain a social life while battling health issues.

The pressures of modern life and the fragility of the family are brought into sharp focus during the course of the dinner, but Karam’s drama still offers some hope for the future.

The show marks the first production in the theatre since the run of Alan Ayckbourn’s How The Other Half Loves in February.

Performances will be Thursday, Aug. 20 and Friday, Aug. 21 at 8 p.m., with a matinee presentation at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 22, at the venue, 1532 Johnston Rd.

Tickets are available through the box office, 604-536-7535, or online at whiterockplayers.ca