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Kimberley’s Turner and Adler Productions present Deathtrap this June

The local company’s first play of the year is a comic-thriller and a play within a play
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This June, Turner and Adler Productions will be presenting their first play of the year, Deathtrap by Ira Levin.

The play was written in 1978, and premiered at the Music Box Theatre in New York City.

Main Artistic Director for Turner and Adler Productions, Tylene Turner is directing the comic-thriller, and says that the production company designs all of their own shows from sets and costumes to lights and sound.

They do receive help however, and for this production they will be getting assistance from Stage Manager, Kyah Schraepel, Assistant Stage Manager and Properties Manager, Connor Klassen, and Lighting and Sound Tech, Elizabeth Adler,

“It takes a community of people to build a show from the ground up and we are grateful to have so many helping hands around to do building, painting, clean-up, etc. The cast and crew become a fantastic family that all works together to bring the stage to life,” said Turner.

Turner says that this play is not necessarily family-friendly, but they always encourage children and youth to observe and take part in theatre.

“Although we might not call this a family-friendly play, we believe that exposing kids to live theatre allows them to explore a whole new range of experiences, emotions and ideas. However, as the title suggests, Deathtrap does handle mature adult themes,” said Turner.

When asked how rehearsals are going, Turner responded, “rehearsals have been fantastic so far. We are so grateful to have been able to put together a team of actors who are all extremely talented, have a long history of performing high quality theatre and are committed to the rewarding but grueling task of creating their characters. It has been our absolute pleasure to be working with professional quality actors.”

Putting a play together involves many different components which can sometimes prove to be challenging. Turner explained that their current challenge lies within the script.

“The process of getting to know a script is always challenging,” said Turner. “There is so much much more than the well-crafted written words on the page. Hidden meanings, innuendos, finding the moments and underlying themes - it is akin to getting to know a person in complete detail, really. It’s a lot of work - but a lot of fun, too.”

Turner and Adler want to let the community know that during the run there will be a cash bar, by donation, at intermission. Proceeds will go to the Kimberley Arts Centre 64 campaign, Give Us A Lift, providing accessibility to the upper part of the Art Gallery and Theatre.

The production company released the following press release about Deathtrap on Friday, May 12:

Turner &Adler Productions is excited to begin their 2017 season with Deathtrap by Ira Levin at Centre 64 in beautiful Kimberley, BC.

From the company that brought you Cabaret last Fall, this comedy-thriller in two acts is one of the most successful whodunits of all time. It spawned a four-year Broadway run of 1,800 performances, a London gig, a big Hollywood movie starring Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve, and countless subsequent incarnations in community theatres.

The story begins in Sidney Bruhl’s study one fateful afternoon in October, when the young playwright Clifford Anderson (Jerrod Bondy) arrives to work on a draft of his new play with his mentor, Sidney (Michael Grossman). Sidney is a sage old scribe who does not intend to go quietly into the good night, which greatly worries his wife, Myra (Michelle LeMay).

Deathtrap is endlessly self-aware and features two men battling for generational dominance as they write a five-character thriller — which is also a description of Deathtrap itself, the other characters being Sidney’s lawyer (played by Brodie Peterson), and the psychic Helga ten Dorp (Brigitte Franyo).

This highly entertaining play has taken the basic components of thrillers and horror stories: murder, deceit, innocent dialogue with hidden sinister meanings, plot reversals, unexpected turns of events, and twisted and rearranged the pieces again and again. Deathtrap will have you on the edge of your seat! Deathtrap runs June 20-24 at Centre 64, Kimberley. Tickets are $20 and available at the Snowdrift Cafe in Kimberley (427-2001) and Lotus Books in Cranbrook (426-3415).

For more information, email turnerandadler@gmail.com and find Turner &Adler Productions on Facebook.



Corey Bullock

About the Author: Corey Bullock

Corey Bullock is a multimedia journalist and writer who grew up in Burlington, Ontario.
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