They talk The Roses, Superman, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and other remakes—what works, what doesn’t, and whether Hollywood is running out of ideas.

To listen to the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba.

“There was an MTC production of Streetcar back in the early 90’s,” recalls director and theatre professor at the University of Manitoba, George Toles (it was, in fact in 2000). “So much of Williams isn’t familiar to people here as a live experience.” 

To read the entire article, please follow the link to Classic 107.

They also talk about how streaming has changed the way we watch, the return of summer blockbusters, and the possible impact of U.S. tariffs on Manitoba’s film industry.

To listen to the entire conversation, please follow the link to CBC Manitoba. 

“We left our country, for our country’s good”

Based on historical events, the play centers around the landing of the First Fleet in Australia, its transported prisoners and the first English theatrical production in the land. One of the central themes of Our Country’s Good is the transformative power of theatre. For the convicts, acting in The Recruiting Officer, offers a temporary escape from their harsh realities. Mary Brenham (played by Meaghan Rohleder) portrays Silvia with passion, showing how theatre provides the convicts an opportunity to be more than their circumstances allow. It offers them a form of freedom, even within their captivity. 

Killara (played by Jade Wood). Credit: K. Schellenberg

Killara (played by Jade Wood) is a standout. Killara’s presence symbolizes the enduring impact of colonization. Quietly observing interactions between officers and convicts, Killara’s costume evolves from a plain grey blanket to one covered with red handprints, black crosses, chains and red ribbon. This transformation reflects the gradual yet far-reaching effects of colonization both in the past and present.

The play also explores the purpose of imprisonment: punishment versus rehabilitation. While Major Ross (played by Samuel Njiru) represents the harsh, punitive mindset, others like Second Lieutenant Clark (played by Taha Ali) advocate for the redemptive power of performance. It’s important to note that many of the convicts are petty criminals—victims of harsh laws for minor offences. This reality showcases the flaws in the justice system and its failure to offer rehabilitation.

After the show, I had the opportunity to sit down with two of the cast members—Taha Ali (playing Second Lieutenant Clark) and Samuel Njiru (playing Major Ross/Midshipman Harry Brewer)—to discuss their experiences.

Reflecting on a sold out opening night, including an unexpected power outage, both actors expressed pride in how the cast and crew navigated the situation. “Opening night was very memorable,” Taha shared. “We had some technical difficulties, but we powered through.”

Samuel echoed Taha’s sentiment, adding, “Despite the challenges, it went really well. I’m proud of the team. We held our ground, and the show must go on no matter what.”

When asked about the challenges they faced in their roles, Taha mentioned the physical demands of maintaining the rigid posture of Second Lieutenant Clark, while Samuel highlighted the difficulty of playing multiple characters with distinct voices and mannerisms.

Regarding the messages they hope the audience takes away, Taha shared, “I want the audience to know that they are so much more than the boxes society puts them in. Art—especially theatre—and the community it builds transcends social barriers.”

Congratulations to the show director Dr. William Kerr and the students of the theatre program for another riveting production. Best of luck with the remaining performances.

Don’t miss your opportunity to watch this play! Tickets for the show can be purchased online through Eventbrite for only $10.00 (plus Eventbrite fees). For behind the scenes looks and to watch an official trailer, check out @umanitobatheatre on Instagram.

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Our Country’s Good

By Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Dr. William Kerr
April 2-5, 2025
John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall 
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus 
Wednesday to Saturday – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday – 2:00 p.m.
Runtime is 150 minutes (There is one 15-minute intermission.)

That changed when I became an international student. The first time I sat in a theatre, watching actors pour their hearts out under the lights, I felt something shift inside me. It wasn’t just a performance—it was real, raw, alive. Theatre wasn’t just about pretending to be someone else; it wasn’t just about playing around, it was about understanding people, about seeing the world differently. In that moment I realized I could rewrite stories and the world would believe me if I played my part right. I knew, in that moment, that I had found something that would change me forever.

Students rehearse for Our Country’s Good.

Since then, my journey in theatre has been one of discovery—of art, of history, of myself. And now, I find myself stepping into the role of Governor Arthur Phillip in Our Country’s Good, a play that speaks to everything I’ve been learning about power, justice, and the ability of theatre to change lives. A play that speaks to everything that I’ve hoped for.

For me, Our Country’s Good is not just a story about British convicts in Australia—it’s about something much bigger. It reminds me of my own country, Nigeria, and its history with British colonialism. The same questions the play asks—about justice, about who gets to decide what is “civilized,” about how we heal from the past—are the same questions my homeland has been asking for generations.

Governor Phillip, the man I play, is complicated. He’s a leader of a brutal empire, yet he believes that theatre can change the lives of the convicts under his rule. Stepping into his shoes makes me think deeply about history, about how power works, about the ways art can be both a tool of control and a tool of freedom. It makes me think of how people always have a choice.

This journey—from a girl in Nigeria who didn’t know theatre could change lives to an actor standing on stage, telling a story that connects the past to the present—has been overwhelming, beautiful, and life-changing.

I hope when people watch Our Country’s Good, they don’t just see a play. I hope they feel the weight of history, the power of storytelling, and the reminder that theatre—like life—is about more than just survival. It’s about understanding, about redemption, about finding our shared humanity.

This isn’t just a performance for me. It’s a conversation. And I can’t wait for the world to listen.

OUR COUNTRY’S GOOD
By Timberlake Wertenbaker
Directed by Dr. Bill Kerr

April 2 – April 5, 2025

John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
150 Dafoe Road, West Taché Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus

Wednesday to Friday – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday – 2:00 p.m. 

Purchase tickets

Our Country’s Good stages the landing of the First Fleet and its transported prisoners who enact the first theatrical production in Australia.  Both highly comic and greatly troubling, the play suggests that theatre can enable positive futures while also acknowledging the pressing need for a just post-colonial future.

Tickets for Our Country’s Good are $10.00 plus Eventbrite fees and can be purchased online. You can also follow along with the theatre students on Instagram as they prepare for the production @umanitobatheatre.

Presented by the Department of English, Theatre, Film & Media‘s Theatre Program. Produced by special arrangement with THE DRAMATIC PUBLISHING COMPANY of Woodstock, Illinois. Set design by Bill Kerr with students Martina Caceres and Deklan Jocelyn. Additional design elements by technical staff Shane Stewart and Karen Schellenberg along with students from the production lab of THTR 3000. Promotional design by Joseph Ogbonnaya. 

Sonja Boon is a writer, researcher, teacher, and flutist. The author of the memoir, What the Oceans Remember: Searching for Belonging and Home (2019), she has published creative nonfiction and poetry in numerous literary magazines, and is author/co-author of four scholarly books, including The Routledge Introduction to Auto/Biography in Canada (with Laurie McNeill, Julie Rak, and Candida Rifkind, 2022). For six years, Sonja was principal flutist with the Portland Baroque Orchestra and has performed with various orchestras around the world.

Boon is excited to work with the UM community. “I’m very much looking forward to creative conversations with UM folks and Winnipeg community members, and to being inspired by the low horizons and the endless skyscapes of the prairies,” said Boon.

“Sonja’s multi-modal creativity encompasses a rich and fluid array of talents,” said Nancy Kang, CCWOC Acting Director. “Her energetic craft taps into the finest nuances of personal identity to illuminate histories and regions. Like an embroiderer, she stitches out delicate yet deliberate intricacies of especially women’s lives. Her musicality, archival experience, ability to narrate oceans and genealogies with sensitivity and lyricism, as well as her buoyant presence, make for an inspiring addition to the Writer-in-Residence program.”

WELCOME EVENT

CCWOC will welcome Sonja Boon to the University of Manitoba at a welcome event held on campus. Boon will share a selection of her work and describe her creative vision to the UM community. Student writer Aevan Caples will will also read at the event. All are welcome. No registration necessary. The event is free.

Playing with Mud: Oceans, Archives, and Speculation
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Readings and talk: 4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Reception to follow
Room 108 St. John’s College

WRITING WORKSHOPS

Boon is hosting seven free workshops for aspiring writers during the residency. View the full schedule of creative activities including cross stitch, how to prepare for stressful presentations, working with archival materials and more.

INDIVIDUAL WRITER CONSULTATIONS

As part of Boon’s role, she will be available by appointment to writers of all levels from now to April. To consult with Boon, students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the public are encouraged to contact her to arrange a free 30-minute meeting.

For more information about any of these programs and events, please contact the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture at ccwoc@umanitoba.ca.

The play pairs the story of a neuroscientist who is experiencing mental health challenges, Dr. Helen Harlow (played by Martina Caceres) with the true story of Phineas Gage (played by Sam Fergus), a construction foreman in 1848 Vermont who inexplicably survived an explosion that shot an iron rod through his head. After the explosion, Gage’s personality undergoes a complete transformation, marked by angry outbursts and inappropriate behaviors and comments. Dr. John Harlow (played by Kezia Obaseki), the doctor tending to Gage and a distant relative of Dr. Helen Harlow, intertwines the two stories, connecting their experiences. 

I appreciated the use of the Thrust stage – a design that extends into the audience on three sides, immersing the spectators and blurring the line between the performers and audience. The performers did a remarkable job of transitioning between the past and present, drawing the audience into the experience by seamlessly entering through various entrances, making them feel like active participants in the show.  

The parallels between Dr. Helen Harlow’s and Phineas Gage’s circumstances, both transformed by changes to their brains, powerfully highlighted the complexities of the human experience. The play does an excellent job of exploring how those around Gage are affected by the changes in his personality. This is vividly portrayed through his workmate and friend, Jack Kirwin (played by Fallon Waddell), who suffers from PTSD after witnessing the accident and his lover, Sophie Kirwin (played by Bronwyn Moll), who has a more tragic outcome that I won’t spoil here.  

This play offers something for everyone, seamlessly binding elements of psychology and neuroscience, comedy, the complexities of the human mind, mental health, a touch of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and even musical moments.  

Congratulations to the show director Dr. Katrina Dunn and the students of the Theatre program for another brilliant production. Best of luck with the remaining performances! 

Don’t miss your opportunity to watch this riveting performance! Tickets for the show can be purchased online through Eventbrite for only $10.00 (plus Eventbrite fees). 

THAT ELUSIVE SPARK 
By Janet Munsil 
Directed by Dr. Katrina Dunn 

November 27 – December 2, 2024 

John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall 
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus 

Wednesday to Friday – 7:00 p.m. 
Saturday – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. 
Sunday – dark 
Monday – 2:00 p.m. 
Runtime is 95 minutes (no intermission) 

A mashup of historical drama and romantic comedy, That Elusive Spark time shifts between a contemporary university where neuropsychologist Helen Harlow struggles with teaching Psych 101 and taming her own mind, and 1848 Vermont where her physician ancestor John Harlow tends to Phineas Gage, a construction foreman who miraculously survives an explosion that shoots an iron rod though his head.

If you’ve taken Introduction to Psychology (PSYC 1200) then you likely remember the story of Phineas Gage and his amazing post-accident personality transformation. That Elusive Spark uses this famous and true case in psychology and neuroscience to explore the human mind, brain and heart with humour and theatricality, along with a dash of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. What emerges is a play that takes a touching and insightful look at mental health in the academy and beyond.

In these productions, undergraduate students studying theatre work together demonstrating their course-learned skills onstage, backstage and through promotion. The experience not only produces a full theatrical production for audiences to enjoy, but also provides hands-on experience to the students that helps them learn the ins-and-outs of working in the world of theatre. “The course these students take is fully experiential,” shared Dr. Katrina Dunn UM faculty member and play director. “Students learn presence, listening and respectful collaboration as each must play their role in the sophisticated teamwork required to bring a play to performance.”

That Elusive Spark is ultimately a story that helps each of us grapple with our understanding of mental health. Being set in a post-secondary environment where we both navigate and study mental health, audiences will find some of the scenes quite familiar.

Tickets for That Elusive Spark are $10.00 plus Eventbrite fees and can be purchased online. You can also follow along with the theatre students on Instagram as they prepare for the production @umanitobatheatre.

THAT ELUSIVE SPARK
By Janet Munsil
Directed by Dr. Katrina Dunn

November 27 – December 2, 2024

John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus

Wednesday to Friday – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday – 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Sunday – dark
Monday – 2:00 p.m.
Runtime is 95 minutes (no intermission).

Purchase tickets

Set and costumes are designed by technical staff Shane Stewart and Karen Schellenberg, assisted by students from the production lab of THTR 3000. Additional production students take design leads on lighting, sound, props and projection. Promotional design by Joseph Ogbonnaya.

Brenda Austin-Smith, a University of Manitoba professor of film and media, considers a multicultural movie theatre in Garden City a smart business move.

New cinema owners are focusing on niche marketing, Austin-Smith added.

“They’ve realized that the mass market is too fragmented. The best thing to do is to figure out, ‘What is the most underserved audience in the local area?’” she said.

For the full story, please visit the Winnipeg Free Press.

A man arrives in a new city to find that everyone knows his name, but thinks he’s someone else. A woman claims to be his wife but he’s never met her and her sister is extremely appealing. His servant has the unwelcome task of running interference between a defiant master and a handful of citizens who are increasingly incensed by the outrageous behaviour of a man they thought they knew. When the shenanigans finally resolve, a tragedy has transformed into love and delight. Such is the plot of William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors.

Cast of The Comedy of Errors in rehearsal. Credit: Sam Fergus

Believed to be one of Shakespeare’s earliest plays, this comedy about separated family and mistaken identity is unforgettably poignant and hilarious. Based on the Roman comedies that Shakespeare studied as a schoolboy, the comic setups are thousands of years old and elevated to new heights in the hands of the Bard.

UM faculty member and play director Dr. Katrina Dunn, explains that because the play is one of Shakespeare’s earliest and shortest, it is a good fit for a student production. “It is a great opportunity for our students, many of whom are performing Shakespeare for the first time, to experience his brilliance and see how he borrowed from others to begin to develop his own style.”

In these productions, undergraduate students studying theatre work together demonstrating their course-learned skills onstage, backstage and through promotion. The experience not only produces a full theatrical production for audiences to enjoy, but also provides hands-on experience to the students that helps them learn the ins-and-outs of working in the world of theatre. “All plays, and especially this one, teach students to work in relationship and in ensemble” shared Dr. Dunn. “Students practice being present with focus, listening and reacting, and collaborating in a very nuanced way with others. This is great healing work after the isolation of the pandemic.”

To make this production fresh for audiences, the action is set in a high fashion house of mirrors to highlight the play’s fascination with image and identity. Dr. Dunn promises much fun will be had with nods to the runway and plenty of flashy music and lights. The cast of twenty talented students will bring to life a story where style is commodity, image is identity, and your reflection could take over your life.

Tickets are $10.00 plus Eventbrite fees and can be purchased online. You can also follow along with the theatre students on Instagram as they prepare for the production @thecomedyoferrors_uofm.

THE COMEDY OF ERRORS
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Dr. Katrina Dunn

March 27 – March 31, 2024
John J. Conklin Theatre, Gail Asper Performing Arts Hall
150 Dafoe Road, West Tache Arts Complex, UM Fort Garry campus

Wednesday to Friday – 7:30 p.m.
Saturday – 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday – 2:00 p.m.
Runtime is 80 minutes.

Design credits: Costume design by Karen Schellenberg. Set design by Chance Sabados. Lighting design by Brenda Vaca. Sound design by Oluwatomisin Akintokun. Promotional design by Joseph Ogbonnaya.