Blyth Festival Extends THE NEW CANADIAN CURLING CLUB

The wildly popular premiere production of The New Canadian Curling Club, the story of unlikely group of would-be athletes who face off against local prejudice to become a true team, has been extended for an additional five shows, after a run of sold-out shows and waiting lists for tickets.

"There has been such incredible demand from patrons who missed out on getting tickets to this show that we had to bring it back," said Gil Garratt, who is the artistic director of the Blyth Festival. "They've heard from friends, from family, from grinning co-workers just how funny and how touching this show is, and then they've been disappointed to find we're sold out. Now, we're happy to be able to offer tickets for limited mid-September show dates," he said.

The New Canadian Curling Club new dates are: Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m.; Wednesday, Sept. 19 at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Friday, Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. Then the show must close.

Written by Mark Crawford, the story takes place in a small town that tries to welcome sponsored Syrian refugees to their community with a free, introductory "Learn to Curl" program, open exclusively to newcomers to Canada. In addition to a young Syrian girl, everyone who signs up has come to town from all corners of the globe, each with their own story. But the night before the very first class, the woman from municipal Parks & Rec who organized the outreach event falls and breaks her hip, and so the duty to teach these newcomers how to sweep hard falls on the custodian/Zamboni driver, Stuart, a former champion curler himself, and unfortunately, a man with some unsavoury opinions about immigrants in Canada. What follows is the perfect combination of comedy, cantankerousness, and crashing granite, as this unlikely group of would-be athletes face off against local prejudice to become a true team, and compete in the most prestigious local bonspiel: the highly coveted Highlander Cup.

The New Canadian Curling Club is directed by Miles Potter and performed by Matthew Gin, Marcia Johnson, Lorne Kennedy, Omar Alex Khan and Parmida Vand. Creative team for The New Canadian Curling Club is: Steve Lucas, production designer; Michelle Bohn, costume designer; and Verne Good, sound designer. Stage management by Heather Thompson and Katerina Sokyrko.

Reserve your seats for this heart-warming story by calling the Box Office at 519.523.9300, Toll Free 1.877.862.5984 or online at blythfestival.com.

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