A piece of “spontaneous theatre” that brings an audience member to the heart of the action is onstage at the Shadbolt Centre in February.
Blind Date, part of the Arts Club on Tour series, is on Saturday, Feb. 2 and Sunday, Feb. 3 at 8 p.m.
The critically acclaimed show created by Rebecca Northan has been staged more than 700 times across Canada and the U.S., as well as in London’s West End, and was hailed as “fearless … and very funny” by the New York Times.
Its premise is simple: the sole actor, Mimi, goes on a different blind date each night – with a man chosen from the audience.
“This fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants fusion of clown, improv, theatre and social experiment is sure to make you fall in love with Mimi and celebrate her audience-member-turned-romantic-hero,” says a press release.
Don’t worry: No audience members are chosen against their will. Cast members mingle in the lobby before the show to meet audience members and find out who might be interested in participating. Once inside, Mimi doesn’t reveal who her date will be until the show begins. What happens for the next hour-and-a-half is anyone’s guess.
“The thesis of Blind Date has always been ‘Everyone is loveable,’” Northan said in the release. “There is great joy in leaning forward in your seat and watching two strangers attempt to connect. It’s what being human is all about.”
Northan, an actor, director, writer and producer, created the show in 2009. There are now four women trained to play Mimi in the original Blind Date, plus two other actors who star in Queer Blind Date.
The Arts Club on Tour production features Lili Beaudoin, Tess Degenstein and Ali Froggatt sharing the role of Mimi and taking turns as “scenographers” – providing extra characters, along with Jeff Gladstone.
If you can’t make the Burnaby show, it’s also on at Coquitlam’s Evergreen Cultural Centre from Jan. 22 to 26 and New Westminster’s Anvil Centre on Jan. 29. Get all the details at www.artsclub.com.
The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts is at 6450 Deer Lake Ave. Tickets are available through tickets.shadboltcentre.com.
