vancouverplays: Vancouver Theatre and Arts and Culture website

event image

— Production photo by Tina Krueger

5 @ 50
by Brad Fraser
Ruby Slippers Theatre and Zee Zee Theatre
PAL Studio Theatre, 581 Cardero St.
May 12-28
$28/$25 at http://tickets.theatrewire.com/shows/5%20@%2050/events
www.rubyslippers.ca
www.zeezeetheatre.ca

You’re Never Finished Growing

Ruby Slippers Theatre & Zee Zee Theatre join forces to proudly present the North American premiere of Brad Fraser’s 5 @ 50, an ensemble tour-de-force about friendship, addiction and co-dependence--and the need to always be evolving and to never get complacent in your life-long emotional, spiritual and physical journey. 5 @ 50 stars Diane Brown, Deborah Williams, Veena Sood, Donna Yamamoto and Beatrice Zeillinger. Directed by Cameron Mackenzie, 5 @ 50 boasts a highly accomplished design team: Kyla Gardiner (Lighting Design), Marina Szijarto (Set & Costume Design) & Sarah Mabberley (Sound Design) and plays at the PAL Studio Theatre May 12-28, 2016.

When Olivia loses control and over-indulges at her fiftieth birthday party, her three best friends decide to stage an intervention (poorly), much to the irritation of Olivia and her lover, Norma. 5 @ 50 is a raw and darkly comedic portrayal of turning fifty in contemporary society, and of the friendships we can’t live without.

“It’s always unique when two indy companies come together to produce something. Ruby Slippers Theatre and Zee Zee Theatre tell stories that are intimate yet expansive. Artist driven and collaborative in spirit, our two companies are coming together to produce 5 @ 50 because this project resonates with personal and social significance. With this co-production, we are doing something revolutionary ... something that no one else is doing on Canada's mainstages; we are putting five women of diverse background over 40 years of age onstage. That’s it. That, sadly, is revolutionary. The other two taboos we are soundly smashing is allowing these women to actually have a mid-life crisis, and to talk about it. Secondly, they get to be unattractive and funny and flawed and, well, utterly human.”
- Ruby Slippers Theatre & Zee Zee Theatre

Brad Fraser is Canada’s enfant terrible, and one of the country’s finest playwrights and cultural exports. His play Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love was listed by Time Magazine as one of the Top Plays of the Year, and his body of work continues to be produced around the world to acclaim and controversy. 5 @ 50 originally premiered at Manchester’s Royal Exchange.

“When a woman turns 50, it's such a milestone," he says -- and it's a similarity he notes within the gay community. Finding a specific focus was easy. "What is the major concern going on in my peer group? Addiction. A lot of people I know my age are either drunk or in AA. Addictions define us in middle age; we have to address them."
– Brad Fraser, an interview with The Huffington Post

Multi award-winning Ruby Slippers Theatre produces, creates and presents provocative text-based theatre from the vanguard of the English and French Canadian canon. They tell personal stories that illuminate diverse perspectives and social issues, inspiring independent critical thought and collective communion. They recently produced two critically acclaimed productions, The Duchess a.k.a. Wallis Simpson, which sold out its run at The Cultch, and Après Moi (After Me) of which Ruby Slippers Theatre also commissioned the English translation. www.rubyslippers.ca

Currently in its eighth season, Zee Zee Theatre is committed to exploring small moments in the lives of the marginalized. With signature productions like the award-winning My Funny Valentine and the acclaimed Human Library, they delve into the shared human experience by staging theatrical conversations with diverse audiences, offering recognizable situations with poignancy and building a connection with our surrounding community in order to inspire unity in shared human experience. Small stories, big impact.

Ruby Slippers Theatre & Zee Zee Theatre present 5 @ 50 by Brad Fraser at the PAL Studio Theatre (300-581 Cardero St, Vancouver) Map: http://goo.gl/maps/TT4iT | May 12-28, 2016- 8pm. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Media Opening: May 12, Public Opening, May 13, 2 for 1 Pay What You Can Preview: May 11. Pay What You Can Matinees Wednesdays 1pm, Saturday & Sunday Matinees, 2pm

Tickets are available at http://tickets.theatrewire.com/shows/5%20@%2050/events