Bobcaygeon’s Globus Theatre is kicking off its 21st season of professional theatre with a bang by staging the world premiere of a new play by Olivier Award-nominated playwright Peter Quilter.
The Dating Game opens on Wednesday, May 29th and runs for 11 performances until Saturday, June 8th at the Lakeview Arts Barn.
Quilter is one of the most widely produced young playwrights in the world, whose plays have been presented in over 40 countries. Globus Theatre is no newcomer to his work, having previously produced Glorious! and the three-time Tony Award-nominated play End of the Rainbow, which was adapted into Judy on the big screen with an Oscar-winning performance by Renée Zellweger.
“I love it when we can bring a play that will go on to theatres around the world and have it start off in our little Bobcaygeon,” says Globus Theatre artistic director Sarah Quick, who also stars in the play. “Something I’m always looking to do is bring work that is brand new to our audiences.”
Quick explains that it was a “fluke” that Globus Theatre ended up having the opportunity to stage the play’s world premiere. Just as she was about to announce the lineup for the season in January, she received an email from Quilter with the script for The Dating Game.
“I wanted it to be the perfect season,” she recalls. “It was only last year that we extended our season from May until December for our 20th anniversary, so I needed to come up with something that could top last year. It just so happened that the week I was going to announce the season, his new play dropped into my inbox. I read it and straight away I knew that I wanted to do it.”
As for Quilter, he is “delighted” that his play will premiere at Globus Theatre.
“There will be productions in Europe this fall, but Globus got there first,” Quilter says in a media release. “It is always exciting when a theatre company is ambitious enough to put on stage a play that audiences have never, ever seen. I hope it will make people laugh and feel good. It’s something we all need right now.”
The Dating Game follows a recently divorced couple as they navigate finding new partners in the 21st century. The story looks at the mad world of dating as the couple goes on unexpected romantic liaisons where nothing quite goes to plan.
“It’s a jungle out there and I think everybody who has been on dates recently — or not so recently — will have stories to tell of dates that maybe weren’t the most successful and hopefully eventually the ones that were,” says Quick. “It’s gentle, it’s positive, and it takes a nice view of life and how we should be looking for a little bit of humour and camaraderie.”
Quick notes the play will “appeal to everyone” because it’s not just about romantic relationships.
“One of the themes of the play is thinking about if we really should just be looking for friends or for companions,” she explains. “Those are often the more long-lasting relationships as opposed to this torrid world of online dating.”
Quick (whose previous Globus performances include Sexy Laundry, Hurry Hard, and Shirley Valentine) stars as Julia, one half of the divorced couple, alongside Matthew Olver (Hound of the Baskervilles, The Foursome, Buying the Moose, The Three Musketeers) as Richard.
Joining them is Quick’s real-life husband, Globus Theatre’s artistic producer James Barrett (Mending Fences, Screwball Comedy, Buying the Moose, Funny Farmers) and Olver’s real-life wife, the two-time Dora Award-winning Lisa Horner (Buying the Moose).
As well as her Globus appearance in 2016’s Buying the Moose, audience members may recognize Horner from the “It’s Not a Mistake” IKEA commercial campaign (“Start the Car” as it’s more commonly known), which was recently named as Canada’s greatest ad of the 21st century by leading marketing and advertising magazine Campaign.
“It’s actually been quite cool working on a play about relationships, marriage, and dating with two real-life couples,” says Quick. “What we look for at Globus is working with actors who are, yes, very talented but also good people. That’s what it’s ultimately all about, and I think the audiences can sense that as well. We just have a really good time during the rehearsal process and hopefully that will show on stage as well.”
Quick is hopeful the camaraderie and fun in The Dating Game will set the tone for the rest of season. The second mainstage performance, This Day in Sports, is another never-before-seen production that brings to the stage a popular Canadian sports podcast.
“I like to make sure that every time people come to Globus, it’s for something a bit different. I would hate to do a season that was the same sort of play, one after another. We have a lot of people now that come to all 13 shows that we’re doing this summer and they need to be able to see something different each time they come.”
New this year, Globus Theatre has introduced an accessible way for youth to access the show with the “$30 under 30s” pricing. One performance of each of the 10 mainstage shows will be available for the promotional pricing, including the opening show of The Dating Game on Wednesday, May 29th at 8 p.m.
“We have more youth joining us over the last few years, so we just wanted to make it a little bit easier for them and give them a discount,” says Quick.
But as Globus Theatre has always done, those of all ages facing financial barriers can volunteer with the theatre company in exchange for free tickets.
“We want everybody to come and see our productions — it’s not supposed to be an elitist form of entertainment,” Quick says. “Our main mandate is to make our theatre accessible, and that is geographical — so you don’t have to go to Toronto to see stars like Lisa — and also financially. We just want to make it as accessible as possible.”
The Dating Game is playing at the Lakeview Arts Barn every night at 8 p.m. from Wednesday, May 29th to Saturday, June 1st and again from Tuesday, June 4th through Saturday, June 8th, with two matinee performances at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 1st and Thursday, June 6th.
Tickets cost $50 for the show only or $100 for the show and a dinner before evening performances. Tickets can be purchased online at globusteatre.com or by calling the box office at 705-738-2037.
