World Premieres Of Interconnected Comedies To Open At The Citadel Theatre

Citadel Theatre audiences will witness not one but two World Premieres this month, with the start of Canadian playwright Kat Sandler's interconnected plays March 30. The Candidate and The Party are political comedies running in tandem, taking place in the Maclab Theatre and The Club, respectively. The Candidate focuses on a political candidate facing a massive scandal the night before an election, while The Party is a political fundraiser where audience members mingle with cast members as they reveal secrets and put political shenanigans in motion.

Running two shows at the same time with one cast in different theatres has never been done in Canada before, says Sandler. The idea was first conceived by English playwright Alan Ayckbourn, who wrote the diptych House and Garden. Those two plays that take place in the same timeline, with the same cast, but with one play occurring inside a drawing room and the other in that house's backyard. Sandler's plays take things one step further by having each story take place months apart. Every moment must be timed exactly, keeping the talented cast on their toes as they race back and forth between theatres, while changing costumes - and, sometimes characters.

Citadel Theatre's Artistic Director, Daryl Cloran, approached Sandler last year about writing two inter-connected shows to take advantage of the Citadel's various theatre venues. Sandler decided to examine cause and effect, with politics as her main focus. The resulting plays are sharp political comedies that satirize not only political campaigns but also Hollywood and our culture's obsession with fame. While both The Candidate and The Party are a complete story on their own, audiences are encouraged to see both shows, in whichever order they choose, to have the full experience.

Cloran and Sandler co-direct the shows, which star Dora Award-winning actor Martha Burns (TV's Slings and Arrows; Citadel's Hamlet, As You Like It) and Dora Award-nominated actor Thom Allison (TV's Killjoys; Citadel's The Drowsy Chaperone), and Edmontonians Rachel Bowron (Citadel's Avenue Q, Crazy For You), Cynthia Jimenez-Hicks, Amber Lewis, Jesse Lipscombe, Glenn Nelson (Citadel's A Christmas Carol), and Luc Tellier (Citadel's Shakespeare in Love), plus Kevin Bundy (Citadel's August: Osage County) and Colleen Wheeler (Vancouver's Bard on the Beach's Timon of Athens).

The Candidate and The Party run March 30 to April 21, 2019, in the Maclab Theatre and The Club, respectively. Tickets are available at www.citadeltheatre.com and 780.425.1820. Tickets start at just $30 plus fees and GST.