A contemporary Canadian drama is up next at the Arts Club’s Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.
Sarena Parmar’s The Orchard (After Chekhov) is an adaptation of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, but told through the lens of a Punjabi-Sikh family in the Okanagan Valley. With the bank calling and money low, will the Basrans be able to save their beloved orchard? Inspired by the playwright’s own childhood, this fresh adaptation confronts life, loss, and the Canadian immigrant experience with humour and beauty.
Parmar was born in Prince George and raised in Kelowna. Her family is originally from Punjab, India. She has extensive film, television, and theatre acting credits. She became the first South Asian playwright to be producedby the Shaw Festival when The Orchard (After Chekhov) premiered last summer. A graduate of the National Theatre School and the Birmingham Conservatory of Classical Theatre, Parmar is also a recipient of the Elliott Hayes Playwright Development Fund awarded by the Stratford Festival.
Artistic Director Ashlie Corcoran said, “I have always loved Chekhov’s writing—and The Cherry Orchard in particular—but what grabbed me about Sarena’s play was its particular sense of place. The play has a great sense of longing and melancholy, infused with contemporary humour and humanity which transposes Chekhov’s writing for our Arts Club audience, in our time.”
Director Jovanni Sy added, “This play really spoke to me—it’s about people in search of identity and the factors out of their control that keep them disoriented.”
IN BRIEF The Arts Club presents Sarena Parmar’s The Orchard (After Chekhov), a timeless family drama set in the Okanagan Valley, playing from March 21 to April 21 at the Stanley Industrial Alliance Stage.
SHOWTIMES
Tue–Thu at 7:30 PM, Fri & Sat at 8 PM, Wed at 1:30 PM, and Sat & Sun at 2 PM
Tickets from $29 at artsclub.com or the Arts Club Box Office at 604.687.1644
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