Neptune Theatre

Inside a butcher shop on the West Bank during the First Intifada, tensions rise to a boiling point as assassins lurk outside intent on murdering the sibling revealed to be an Israeli spy. Ilan Hatsor’s heartbreaking play brings a human, emotional angle to a subject which is typically framed by impartial facts and figures on the nightly news.

The First Intifada was a mass Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule that began in the Jabalia refugee camp and quickly spread throughout Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Palestinian actions ranged from civil disobedience to violence. In addition to general strikes, boycotts on Israeli products, graffiti, and barricades, Palestinian demonstrations that included stone-throwing by youths against the heavily-armed Israeli Defense Forces brought the intifada international attention. Intra-Palestinian violence was also a prominent feature of the Intifada, with widespread executions of alleged Israeli collaborators contributing almost half of the death toll among Palestinians.

We’re looking for people to share stories about their experiences with the Intifada. Whether these stories are personal, second hand or even a recollection about something you may have seen on the news we encourage you to post them right here to the blog.

Here is a story from the Globe and Mail relating to the Intifada. 

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081101.wxtheatre01/BNStory/International/Theatre/

CBC radio recently aired a very interesting interview with Peter Morgan, the author of Neptune’s current production Frost/Nixon along with the award winning screenplays The Queen and The Last King of Scotland. Click on the link to give it a listen.

Peter Morgan Interview

These are the responsibilities which plague the three brothers at the centre of Masked, Neptune’s first Studio Series production of the 2008-2009 season. The raw horror of this seemingly endless conflict unfolds on the Studio stage from Oct. 28 - Nov. 16. 

Experience the Middle East conflict from each brothers’ vantage points. Set in the family butcher shop in the West Bank, tensions rise to a breaking point between the brothers who are torn between duty, kinship, principles and survival. Ilan Hatsor’s heartbreaking play looks at the struggle from “the other” side’s point of view, despite the inextricable entwining of everyone’s stories. 

What comes first: family, country, or self? Or is it ever that clear-cut? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

Dalhousie University’s department of Theatre invites the public to a lecture by Dr. Alan Andrews: George Bernard Shaw’s Melodrama: The Devil’s Disciple, which is still playing at Neptune! The lecture will take place Thursday, October 9th at 5 pm in Room 2102 of the Marion McCain Arts and Social Science Building (6135 University Ave.).

If you’ve already seen Neptune’s production of The Devil’s Disciple, this is a great opportunity to hear more about the play and its playwright. And if you haven’t gotten to Fountain Hall yet, why not make a night of it? Attend the lecture and learn more about the play and its place in the Shaw canon, and then see Neptune’s performance, which has been hailed by critics as an “entertaining, in-your-face production, with brilliant dialogue.”

The Devil’s Disciple runs until October 12th in Neptune’s Fountain Hall. Buy your tickets today!

Listen to the first In Conversations Series post show chat following the September 24th performance of The Devil’s Disciple. Dalhousie University Theatre Professor Dr. David Nicol moderated the discussion and provided insight and background on George Bernard Shaw.

Remember to subscribe using iTunes and enjoy our In Conversations Series all season long.

Halifax has rolled out the welcome mat once again for students attending our many great schools. And while they’ll be spending hours taking notes in lectures and studying in the stacks, they want to have some fun too.

But being a student isn’t cheap – tuition, books and coffee all add up, leaving little left for an original, exciting night out. Which is why Neptune created the Student 4-Play package. For only $80, students can come to four unique plays – and get four entertaining nights out for the price of one. Who wants to sit at home watching reruns when there’s live theatre on your doorstep?

That’s the beauty of being a student in Halifax – great education, great entertainment. What other perks of being a student in Halifax do you look forward to, or that you have just discovered?

Norm Foster’s newest play, Skin Flick, makes its world debut at Neptune on January 20th, 2009. After years of marriage, an older couple loses their savings in the stock markets and end up broke. Frustrated, they brainstorm ways of replenishing their bank accounts – and stumble upon the idea of producing a porn flick! The antics of this lovable couple trying to get back on their feet in a world with which they are utterly unfamiliar will keep you in stitches.

Directed by Walter Learning, Skin Flick stars David Nairn and Halifax-based Martha Irving as Rollie and Daphne Waters. Gordon Gammie and Ginette Mohr have also been cast.

What are the most outrageous schemes you’ve ever heard of to make money? Do any actually work?

Frost/Nixon, which opens on Neptune’s Fountain Hall stage on October 12th, is based on a world-famous series of interviews conducted in 1977 between the United States of America’s disgraced 37th president Richard Nixon and British playboy talk show host David Frost. This Tony-award winning play, which is also being made into a feature film to be released this December, is very timely, coming just weeks before the election of a new U.S. president.

In Frost/Nixon, writer Peter Morgan (The Queen; The Last King of Scotland) skillfully recreates Nixon’s first interview after three years of silence following his resignation. Both Nixon and Frost’s camps tried to outwit the other – attempting to avoid and provoke answers respectively – but the historic end result was Nixon’s implicit admission of guilt in the Watergate scandal.

This YouTube clip is an excerpt from the actual interview. What political scandal or infamous interview would you like to see on stage?

George Bernard Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple, the tale of a rascally drinker who announces in a Puritan New Hampshire household that he’s at the service of Lucifer, is Neptune’s devilish season opener.

After a case of mistaken identity set against the backdrop of the American Revolution, American Richard Dudgeon seems destined for the gallows. This YouTube clip from a 1987 TV movie adaptation of Shaw’s play shows Dudgeon at his trial, pretending to be the town’s minister, Anthony Anderson, after he was mistakenly arrested by British soldiers.

How do you think this scene will be different on stage? What are some of the advantages of stage versus screen? Drawbacks? What plays have you seen that were remarkably better compared to their film adaptations? Have you seen any that work better on film? Let us know!

Single tickets for The Devil’s Disciple do not go on sale to the general public until August 11th but subscribers can get tickets to this timeless and funny show today with any subscription package.