Amber Jones and Paige Brenneis, both members of the Caviar Players, performed before residents, guests and volunteers at the Chateau Sturgeon Lodge on Thursday for their Volunteer Appreciation Night. The Hamlette comedy performance drew many laughs from the audience.
Two members of the Caviar Players, Amber Jones as Hamlette and Landan Hughes as Horatio performing one of their scenes in the contemporary
spoof on William Shakespeare’s work Hamlet.
Hamlette – the princess of Denmark
Morinville’s Caviar Players will be staging Allison Williams’ comedy of life at Elsinore Castle when the Great Dane is actually a Great Dame. At 50 minutes or so this lighthearted modern work runs faster than Shakespeare’s male oriented traditional version, but it’s just as violent and gory, while there are a lot more laughs.
Caviar veteran Amber Jones returns after two years off for marriage and childbirth to take the lead role of Princess Hamlette. Marge van der Horden directs and plays the evil queen, as well as dropping to a contralto voice for the hand-puppet stand-in for Bad King Claudius. Paige Brennais appears as the brother/sister team of Laertes and Ophelia. Landan Hughes handles the Horatio role, while David Haas is both the Ghost of the former king and the present king’s long winded but trusted advisor Polonius. There are a few other characters as well, some anachronistically modern, with a lot of quick changes going on as the actors double and triple their roles, and there are some surprising cross-gender appearances.
The play will run at Morinville’s Community Cultural Centre on Friday, April 5, doors opening at 6:30 p.m. with the show at 7 p.m. a second show will take place Saturday, April 6, doors opening at 1:30 p.m. with the show at 2:00 p.m. Light refreshments will be served following the performance.
Tickets are $15 per person, and can be obtained from members of Caviar Players, or at Smith’s Music at 9917 – 100 Street, or email caviarplayers@gmail.com, or telephone 780-572-4449.
Animation exhibit at cultural centre
Animated Delight, a free exhibit of seven short animated films and 15 artworks by Brian Batista, Leslie Bell, Stefanie Wong & Chris Melnychuk will be on display from Apr. 5 to 19.
