Stephen Harper News

1979 was quite a big year both politically and culturally, but Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark is perhaps one of the lesser known figures to emerge from that time – his Liberal opposite number Pierre Trudeau (or at the very least his son, Justin) is probably a more recognisable name.

This follows A Strange Loop, the Pulitzer Prize-winning new musical direct from Broadway with performances until 9 September and includes a world premiere from Belarus Free Theatre, UK premieres by Why Not Theatre, Eun-Me Ahn, Pam Tanowitz and David Lang, a cross-cultural festival curated by Inua Ellams, the return of Dance Umbrella andTold by an Idiot, and a line-up of exciting and experimental theatre makers in The Pit.

Acclaimed multilingual physical theatre company Little Soldier Productions are combining slapstick humour with absurdist Beckett as they quest for the answer to 'why do we carry on'.

Happy Idiot Production’s subversive parody Not: Lady Chatterley’s Lover will bring a fresh twist to DH Lawrence’s classic story this autumn. Writer Lawrence Russell, has given this scandalous story the Mel Brooks treatment, with the help of acclaimed artists Simon Godwin, Stephen Harper and Laurence Pears.

Told by an Idiot are bringing their international hit family show Get Happy to outdoor audiences at the Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, part of On Your Doorstep Programme. 

Told by an Idiot brings its international hit family show Get Happy to outdoor audiences as part of Greenwich+Docklands International Festival, including performances at a basketball court and on an island.

The Theater Project has announced the award of a COVID-19 Response Grant of $6880 from the New Jersey Council for the Humanities (NJCH).

Union-based professional company The Theater Project will take on one of the most controversial issues of the day with a staged reading of Black Lives / Blue Lives, an original pair of one-acts exploring each side of the police/race dynamic responsible for so many front-page tragedies in recent years.  The reading/ discussion will be presented at the Cranford Community Center on Wednesday, November 13, at 7:00 p.m.

What happened in the Prime Minister's office on the ill-fated day of Joe Clark's budget vote? Michael Healey's play on the downfall of the 16th PM of Canada, produced by The 1979 Group and directed by Miles Potter, explores the ideology of the morally-motivated Albertan and his interactions with some of the most well-known names in modern Canadian politics.

The 1979 Group presents 1979, a new comedy by Michael Healey (Proud, The Drawer Boy), directed by Miles Potter (The New Canadian Curling Club / Blyth Festival, The Drawer Boy), for a limited run at the Berkeley Street Theatre, Downstairs, January 9-27, 2019.

This autumn OLD STOCK: A Refugee Love Story, a humorously dark folktale mixed with a high energy klezmer concert, tours the UK. Taking a divisive comment by a Canadian politician as a starting point, 2b theatre company and their director Christian Barry, acclaimed playwright Hannah Moscovitch and musician Ben Caplan created a show to explore what 'old stock' really means in a country founded by immigration.

How far would you be prepared to go in search of a good story? For acclaimed playwright Leo Butler, an invitation to take part in the world's first LSD drug trials since the 1960s proved just too intriguing to refuse…

All You Need is LSD is a world premiere new play by Leo Butler, directed by Paul Hunter and Stephen Harper, premiering at Birmingham Repertory Theatre, 4-13 October (press night: Tuesday 9 October), before going on a tour of the following: Unity Theatre, Liverpool; Tobacco Factory Theatres, Bristol; The Lowry, Salford; Belgrade Theatre, Coventry,

Following the announcement that Leo Butler's new play All You Need Is LSD will run at the Belgrade Theatre 15-17 November, full casting for the world premiere tour has now been revealed.

Physical Festival Chicago - the city's annual contemporary, visual and physical theater festival presenting new forms of theater from around the world - is returning June 1-9, 2018 for its fifth anniversary outing.

The concert-theater hybrid plumbs the dark realities of a young refugee couple's struggles in 1908 Halifax, Nova Scotia.

New & emerging comedians from across the UK have been announced to take part in a series of prestigious comedy competitions and events at Leicester Comedy Festival 2018. The comedians will take part in competitions including Silver Stand Up, Leicester Mercury Comedian of the Year, The UK Pun Championships or the new Circuit Breakers showcase set up following a crowd funding campaign. All the shows will take place as part of the 25th anniversary of Leicester Comedy Festival which takes place from 7-25 February 2018. Full details about the festival can be obtained by visiting www.comedy-festival.co.uk

BWW speaks to Happy Idiots about bringing Not:Lady Chatterley's Lover to the 2017 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

The Festival's theater offerings feature four North American premieres from the U.K., Syria, and Israel, challenging audiences to look backward and forward, while offering perspectives that confront assumptions about human nature.

Commissioned by the Finborough Theatre in its search for exciting new works from Canada, Proud is the European premiere of a satirical political play written by multi-award winning, Canadian playwright Michael Healey. It is the third in a trilogy of his plays centred around exploring Canadian values.