Back Back to Artword Productions 2000-2001

September 20 to October 8, 2000 ACME Theatre Co. and Artword Theatre present the brilliant one-man play by the author of The Weir
	"Back in those days, I was a fat bastard. This is back before I met the vampires. Before I knew what power was..."
starring Adam Bramble, directed by Dean Gabourie A Dublin theatre critic chases an actress to London, pimps for a band of vampires, and finds redemption.			click to enlarge

What the critics said of the Summerworks '99 version:
NNNN "McPherson is a first-rate storyteller and in Adam Bramble - working under Dean Gabourie's sharp direction - he has a performer with a knack of drawing us into his tales and the ability to make the speaker an increasingly complex figure with thoughts to share on the power of art, love and dreams." Jon Kaplan NOW
**** "Adam Bramble is superb in this sophisticated monologue that always keeps its audience guessing." DM Eye Weekly

Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas opens Artword’s fall season

ACME Theatre Co.’s acclaimed production of Conor McPherson’s St. Nicholas is Artword Theatre’s first offering of their fall 2000 season. The play previews September 19 and 20, opens Thursday, September 21 and runs to Sunday, October 8, at Artword Theatre, 75 Portland Street, near Bathurst and King.
The production was originally presented in the 1999 SummerWorks Theatre Festival where it garnered rave reviews. Adam Bramble created the role of "the critic" and Dean Gabourie directed. Now it’s back for a three-week run in its full version.
St. Nicholas is a deftly written one-man play by Irish playwright Conor McPherson, best known for his international hit The Weir. St. Nicholas is a theatrical fable about a disillusioned and jaded Dublin theatre critic at a crisis in his life. The critic leaves town and follows a beautiful young woman to London where he meets a band of vampires, procures victims for them and finally finds redemption.
McPherson uses the tools of traditional Irish storytelling, mixing reality and unreality to illuminate emotional truths. The Weir won the Olivier Award for London’s best play. St. Nicholas followed, originally produced at the Bush Theatre in London in 1997 and then moved to New York in 1998 where it was one of the hits of the season.
"We were lucky to get the rights to this play before international interest in the script began to skyrocket," says ACME Theatre Co.’s Dean Gabourie, director of St. Nicholas. "The New York agent was happy with the SummerWorks presentation, so we were able to extend the rights for this production. We were pleased that Artword Theatre wanted to come in with us in presenting this important play."
Veteran actor Adam Bramble is one of the key members of ACME Theatre Co., having played in productions of Saved, Golgo, and Marat/De Sade. Jon Kaplan (NOW) wrote, "McPherson is a first-rate storyteller and in Adam Bramble – working under Dean Gabourie's sharp direction – he has a performer with a knack of drawing us into his tales and the ability to make the speaker an increasingly complex figure with thoughts to share on the power of art, love and dreams."
Artword Theatre is launching its second season in its new 150-seat theatre with St. Nicholas. Artistic Director Ronald Weihs says, "We think this is an eloquent piece of theatre and ACME is a company with a history of tackling challenging scripts from the international repertoire. This is the kind of work that our audiences have come to expect after last year’s Strindberg, Schoenberg, Marivaux and Ola Rotimi."

St. Nicholas Written by: Conor McPherson
Performed by: Adam Bramble Directed by: Dean Gabourie
Presented by: Artword Theatre Produced by: ACME Theatre Co.
Dates: Previews Sept. 19 and 20, Opens Thursday Sept. 21, runs to Sunday, Oct. 8
Times: Tuesday to Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 2:30
Tickets: Tues-Thur $18 and $15 (seniors, students, arts workers); Fri & Sat $20 & $15; Sun pwyc

Where: Artword Theatre, 75 Portland Street, Toronto (one block east of Bathurst, south of King)

Call: Box Office: 416-408-ARTD (416-408-2783)