For Immediate Release: November 15, 1999
War of the Worlds
We interrupt this programme ...
Rumble Productions in collaboration with Studio 58
Written and Composed by Alex Ferguson and Peter Hannan
November 26 to December 5
The Roundhouse Community Centre, Vancouver
181 Roundhouse Mews (Davie & Pacific)
Tues - Sat, 8pm
Sundays 7pm
Sat matinee - Dec 4, 2pm
Free show - Sun, Nov 28
2-for-1 shows - Tues, Sat matinee
What do Brian Wilson, Hitchcock, Stalin, and Orson Welles' typist have in common? Answer: Russian inventor, Leon Theremin. You know the theremin - that eerie sound from 50's sci-fi flicks and the Beach Boys' Good Vibrations.
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, playwright and spoken-word artist Alex Ferguson and composer Peter Hannan re-invent the creative titans behind War of the Worlds - the radio event that rocked America!
War of the Worlds is a multi-media spectacle, which explores the circumstantial meeting of three characters: Russian inventor Leon Theremin, creative visionary Orson Welles and Welles' typist (and uncredited collaborator) Sylvia Breach. The play draws inspiration from the history of radio: the utopian fervour of its beginnings, the authority of its early to mid-century zenith, and especially young Welles' prank that foreshadowed the loss of faith in the mass media.
The production features a cast of six - Hiro Kanagawa, Patrick Keating, Kevin MacDonald, Paulo Ribeiro, Wendy Van Riesen and Jenny Young - who are accompanied by the new music ensemble Standing Wave, vocalist Jennifer Scott and composer Peter Hannan on theremin. The artistic team includes Andreas Kahre (production design), John Webber (lighting), Barbara Clayden (costumes), Noah Drew (foley) and Urban Visuals (projections). War of the Worlds is directed by Norman Armour.
Rumble Productions is Vancouver's all terrain theatre vehicle. Rumble spotlights the contradictions between public history and private experience by creating theatre that crackles with wit and imagination. Company founders Norman Armour and Chris Gerrard-Pinker strive to produce experiential and thought-provoking work that investigates, provokes and sometimes surrenders to the human condition.
Rumble Productions gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Canada Council for the Arts, BC Arts Council, City of Vancouver - Office of Cultural Affairs, The Vancouver Foundation, ArtsFACT and du Maurier Arts Ltd.