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“It’s not an obsession, it’s revenge” Enlightenment Theatre, a young Vancouver company, is pleased to present George F. Walker’s beloved melodrama, Zastrozzi, the Master of Discipline. This incredibly ambitious production, the first of its kind for Enlightenment, directed by Emilio Salituro and starring Marco Soriano in the title role, will run July 18 - August 4 at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island. George F. Walker is one of Canada’s most beloved, prolific, and most produced playwrights, with more than twenty plays published. Zastrozziis arguably one of his most favorite. Dark and melodramatic, edging on surreal, Zastrozzi, the self-proclaimed “master criminal of Europe,” follows its title character in his endless quest for revenge upon Verezzi, the man who killed his mother. Jerry Wasserman, in his book Modern Canadian Plays, says of Walker’s work: Drawn from the generic fringes of popular culture both present (cartoons, B-movies) and past (Jacobean revenge tragedy, gothic melodrama), it is peopled with obsessive characters living in perpetual extremity and given to philosophical musings about such things about such things as the need to wrench order out of chaos…. No play of his occupies that black comic territory with greater stylishness or command than Zastrozzi. Enlightenment Theatre Company pulls together an incredible team. Directed by Emilio Salituro, the show stars Marco Soriano (Angels in America, Griffin and Sabine) as the darkly tortured Zastrozzi. The extensive swordplay will be choreographed by Nick Harrison, and the rest of the cast includes Briana Rayner as Matilda, Colby Wilson as Bernardo, Jon Laughlan as Verezzi, Kendahl Diebold as Julia, and David Benedict Brown as Victor. Brown also serves as the show’s producer. “We are so excited to be doing this Canadian classic,” he says. “We are a young theatre company, and we are really trying to push ourselves to produce theatre that is challenging, relevant and entertaining, and that’s what Zastrozzi is.”
Zastrozzi: The Master of Discipline, produced by Enlightenment Theatre Society, previews July 18, and runs July 19-August 4 (inclusive) at the Waterfront Theatre on Granville Island, 8 pm nightly. In addition, there will be matinees at 2 pm on Saturdays and Saturdays. Tickets are $22/18. For tickets, please call Tickets Tonight at 604-231-7535, or purchase online at www.ticketstonight.ca. |
