Regina residents welcome the return of live theatre
Regina residents have been waiting for live performances to come back for months, and this week the opportunity to take in a live show will return.
Sum Theatre, a company based in Saskatoon, has brought its theatre in the park performance to Regina.
The show, ‘The Other Side of the River’, tells the story of two communities divided until they are forced together and discover their similarities.
“This year we wanted to address race relations and the fear that people have about people that are different from them and do a play about anti-racism for everyone,” said Joel Bernbaum, the artistic director for Sum Theatre.
The rock-and-roll opera, complete with puppets, aims to use art as a catalyst for discussion and change.
The story was heavily influenced by the Black Lives Matter and Indigenous Lives Matter movements that have taken place over the last year.
“All of our artists, myself included, are grappling with these movements and saying how do we let them infect and infuse our work in a way that helps us move people a little further down their path of understanding the world around them,” said Bernhaum.
The show features an original score composed by Amanda Trapp.
“This was my first full score that I composed,” said Trapp. “It was a real opportunity to write something I had a strong relationship to.”
Focusing on rock music, Trapp hopes to bring people into the story on different levels.
“When we’re all belting out these songs and our guitarist is just slamming on his guitar you can’t help but lean in and listen,” said Trapp.
Audiences can expect huge puppets and sets during the show, creating an environment Sum Theatre hopes people will remember.
“This at the end of the day is a play, and a play is meant to be fun,” said Bernbaum. “There is nothing more fun than puppets that blow your mind. So if nothing else, its worth it to come down to the park to hear the amazing music, and see the giant puppets.”
The free performances will be taking place at parks around Regina all week long. For a list of shows and locations visit Sum Theatre online.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.