Acclaimed actors Christian Murray and Natasha MacLellan had a small group of onlookers roaring with laughter yesterday inside The Halifax Club on Hollis Street.
The two actors were teasing the crowd with a small taste of a play they’re performing as part of Eastern Front Theatre’s 17th season.
The homegrown hit comedy, called Lauchie, Liza & Rory, previews next April 6 and 7 and runs until April 18 at the Bus Stop Theatre on Gottingen Street under the direction of theatre connoisseur Mary-Colin Chisholm. Judging from the brief performance by Murray and MacLellan, who both play several characters in the story of an “awkward courtship” that turns into an entertaining love triangle, this play promises to delight audiences.
The launch of Eastern Front’s latest playbill also featured screenings of Extinction Song, which will make its Atlantic Canada premiere from Nov. 15 to 29 at the Windsor Lecture Theatre in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, and One Man Lord of the Rings, which will be presented at next spring’s SuperNova Theatre Festival at Neptune Studio Theatre.
Eastern Front artistic director Scott Burke said people should “prepare to be moved” this coming year. But Burke wasn’t just talking about the impact the 2009-10 playbill will have on audiences, he was also referring to the fact that Eastern Front is no longer the resident professional theatre company at Alderney Landing.
“‘Prepare to be moved’ highlights the fact that Eastern Front Theatre is returning to its roots as an itinerant theatre company that uses a variety of performance venues,” he said.
“It also points out our desire to (entertain) audiences with productions that provoke laughter, engage the intellect and stir the emotions.”
Burke admitted building “a sustaining audience” has long been a struggle for the small local company, which is why he thinks moving from the 300-seat Alderney Landing Theatre to several smaller venues is the right move.
But he added “Eastern Front is certainly looking for its next permanent home,” ideally on the Halifax side of the harbour.
