Citadel's Collider Festival stages five new plays in June
Works in progress include a musical about Canada's $18.7M maple syrup heist, Austen prequel, and Agatha Christie comedy.
The Citadel Theatre is opening its creative doors June 5-7 with the Collider Festival, a three-day showcase of five new plays in development — a chance for audiences to peek behind the curtain at work still taking shape.
The festival is organized as research and development for local playwrights, giving them space to hear their work performed and gauge audience reaction before full production. Associate Artistic Director Mieko Ouchi compared it to R&D in other industries: "Theatre is such a three-dimensional art form. It's about the air between the actors and the audience, that space, that air, and that sort of magic that happens."
The lineup includes Mhairi Berg's *The Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist: The Great Canadian Musical* — a musical about the 2011-2012 theft of nearly 3,000 tonnes of maple syrup from a Quebec storage facility, the single greatest theft in Canadian history when adjusted for inflation, worth $18.7 million. Berg wrote the piece in The Citadel's Playwrights Lab and has played piano her whole life.
Other works being read include Nicole Moeller's *Come Hell or High Water*, Col Cseke's *An Agatha Christie Mystery A Comedy*, and Belinda Cornish's *Darcy & Wickham* — a prequel to Jane Austen's *Pride and Prejudice* adapted from Melanie Kerr's novel *Follies Past*.
Actors will perform from music stands, stage direction will be read rather than acted, and some musical numbers will be performed — giving audiences a raw glimpse of work in process.
The festival also hosts two paid workshops: Nick Green on writing musical theatre and Mariló Núñez on Maria Irene Fornes' decentralized playwriting style. Both workshops sold out quickly, with additional spots now available at $50 each.
Show readings are free. Tickets available at citadeltheatre.com.