Kanata Theatre has decided that the next play to grace the Ron Maslin stage will be none other than the hilarious comedic thriller written by Peter Colley called When The Reaper Calls.  This play is based on two lifelong friends Victor and Harlan, played by Gordon Walls and Lee Powell respectively. These men have spent the better part of their friendship playing practical jokes on each other despite the fact that they are philosophy professors who have both adopted opposing views on what they think the afterlife to be.

 Victor, a pleasure seeker, believes that life should be lived to the fullest because once death grabs hold of you it is all over; so you may as well get as much joy and entertainment out of this life as humanly possible. Harlan, on the other hand, has quite an unemotional approach to the afterlife and refuses to adopt Victor’s cavalier assessment of what death will entail.

 While the friends are on holiday in British Columbia with their wives, Victor decides to set up a nasty prank to prove once and for all that his way of thinking about death is correct and  that Harlan should not be so apathetic when dealing with the afterlife. Like all good comedic thrillers of course, the prank goes disastrously wrong and hilarity ensues.

 When The Reaper Calls is directed by Martin and Helen Weeden. This directing duo illuminates the suspense and humour of the play while piquing the interest of the audience by adding just enough deception to keep everyone guessing. The play is full of twists and turns,  nothing is as it seems. You will often find yourself laughing out loud. You are not going to want to miss  this play.     

When The Reaper Calls runs from January 30^th until February 10^th with blackout days on Sunday and Monday. 

Tickets $15.00 and curtain is at 8pm sharp. Advance tickets can be purchased starting January 16th from the Box Office of the Ron Maslin Playhouse located at 1 Ron Maslin Way just off Terry Fox Drive. 

The Box-office hours are 5pm-7pm Monday till Friday and 10am – noon on Saturdays.  For more information call the box office at 831-4435 or visit our website at www.kanatatheatre.com 

Kanata, Ontario – JANUARY 2007 - Kanata Theatre presents When the Reaper Calls by Peter Colley. In this Canadian mystery-comedy, UBC philosophy professors Victor and Harlan are old friends spending a cottage weekend with their wives. Long time practical jokers, their competition to out-do each other leads to deadly results . . . or does it? A clever comedy-thriller with twists and turns along the way is for those who love high action, crafty dialogue and mystery.

Colley, the playwright who brought us You'll Get Used to It! - The War Show,

“was prompted by the approaching end of the millennium - such a profound milestone in the passage of time naturally provokes a long look back at our past, and speculation about our future. The two madcap academics in the play have wildly divergent opinions about the future and especially about the likelihood of life beyond the grave. I wanted their arguments to be a reflection of the hopes and fears that we all grapple with. But I also wanted them to be a reflection of their past - to show how little the human condition has really changed in the thousand years. Despite their high-faluting chatter, the professors’ emotions are still locked into their Dark Ages roots, just as capable of fear, rage, lust, jealously and revenge as their barbarian ancestors.”

A joint directorship between husband and wife team Martin and Helen Weeden, brings added attention and complexity to relationships portrayed on stage. Come enjoy the clever blend of dialogue, action and mystery.

When the Reaper Calls, January 30- Febrary10, 2007. 8 p.m.

Kanata Theatre,
1 Ron Maslin Way
Kanata, ON
K2V 1A7

The box office telephone number is 613-831-4435, and the fax number is 613-831-4438.

For more information visit www.kanatatheatre.com

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Kanata Theatre’s first production of the New Year is a comedy/thriller by a Canadian master of the genre.

When the Reaper Calls take us into the world of philosophy, native mysticism and murder. Or is it murder? You are never quite sure as the characters wend their ways through a plot that becomes increasingly unpredictable and complex.

Peter Colley is one of Canada’s most successful playwrights. His gothic thriller I’ll Be Back Before Midnight has been a staple of the Canadian stage for more than 25 years. It has been produced in 25 countries, 48 of the 50 American states and all ten Canadian provinces. It has grossed more than $10 million worldwide. In 2005 it broke all box office records for the United Kingdom’s largest producer of touring plays.

Colley also wrote You’ll Get Used to It! The War Show, the retrospective of the songs and events of World War II that ended Kanata Theatre’s 2004/2005 season. His latest play The Man in the Desert tells the story of Lawrence after Arabia. It is scheduled for production in 2007.

When the Reaper Calls opened in Germany in 2004 and since has become a theatrical standard. In the Kanata Theatre production Gordon Walls plays Victor, the slightly malicious prankster who unleashes the chain of events that drives the play. Walls was Gary in last year’s Noises Off. His stoic victim Harlan is Lee Powell who was Pops in The War Show. Dayna MacDonald is Officer McGuire, last seen on the Kanata stage in Departures and Arrivals several years ago.

Kanata Theatre welcomes two new faces, Nicola Day as Colleen and Lucie Roy as Dora, the wives of Harlan and Victor who are unwillingly caught up in happenings beyond their control.

When the Reaper Calls is directed by Helen and Martin Weeden. It runs in the Ron Maslin Playhouse, 1 Ron Maslin Way, just off Terry Fox Drive at Walter Baker Place, Tuesday to Saturday, January 30 to February 10. Curtain is at 8 pm sharp. The box office number is (613) 831 4435. Tickets are $15.

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