What's On in September?

September is a traditionally quiet month for theatre in Edmonton.  I think the Fringe has something to do with that.  People need a little time to recover, rehearse and build the next show.  Similarly the audience needs a bit of down time to handle all that happens in the Fall and many are a bit tired out and pocket poor from whatever shenanigans they have participated in over the summer months.

There are a couple of shows coming towards the end of September to kick off the 2014-15 Theatre Season.

 Kim's Convenience by Ins Choi opens the 2014/15 season at the Citadel Theatre.  This is the Soulpepper Theatre production which started at the 2011 Toronto Fringe Festival.  It's a tight little comedy about a Korean family who runs a convenience store in the rapidly changing Regent Park area of Toronto.  Following it's runaway success at the Toronto Fringe, it was picked up by Soulpepper for an even more successful production (both commercially and critically) and then the show began a National Tour. This is a quintessentially Canadian story (how many of us are immigrants?) and has been described as both hilarious and touching. Kim's Conveniences runs at the Citadel Theatre in the Shoctor from Sept 20th to October 11th.

Fatboy, at Theatre Network is another show with it's roots in the Fringe. This time it's the Sterling-Award winning show from the 2012 Edmonton International Fringe. Described as a live-action Punch and Judy show inspired by Alfred Jarry's UBU ROI! Scatological, scabrous and scandalous - a pummeling comedy that will leave you punch drunk. Fatboy runs from September 16th to 28th at the Roxy Theatre. 

 Finally, The Violet Hour kicks off the Studio Theatre season at the Timm's Centre. A deliciously dark comedy set in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby era. A Princeton graduate who wishes to be a publisher must choose between two manuscripts: his best friend from college's masterpiece, or his lover's compelling memoir. I beleive this would be one of the MFA Candidate's shows but I am not sure which one. The show runs from September 18th to 27th.

It's going to be hard for me to wait until halfway through the month to see anything.  I'm hoping the start of school will be enough crazy to keep me satisfied until these shows open!

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