History meets Twilight Zone in Studio Theatre’s new thriller Scotland Road
By: Jeffrey Hatcher
Directed by: Joanna McCauley Treffers
What we heard from the opening night audience:
“A great opening night”…….”A very talented group of actors.” ……”A fascinating Q & A topped off a thought-provoking play!”
By popular demand we’ve added another “Question and Answer” session after the show on Friday, February 10th. You won’t want to miss it!
Scotland Road: A Play That Truly Engages
We’ve all seen too many movie and theatre slogans that promise “an experience you won’t soon forget!” Nine times out of ten, those are the shows you mentally ash-can before you leave the parking lot. Let’s face it, the half-life of most entertainments these days is about 5 minutes.
Luckily, there are still a few plays that truly engage us, living in our memories long enough to discuss, question, and explore more deeply, long after the lights come up. Scotland Road is one of those precious few.
This thought-provoking thriller by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher has it all: a tantalising premise, a torn-from-the-headlines mystery, and enough twists and turns to keep us on a knife-edge of anticipation throughout.
Inspired by an actual tabloid headline, the play begins in modern times as a fishing trawler rescues a young woman floating on an iceberg off the coast of Iceland. The questions this unlikely scenario poses are as impenetrable as the iceberg itself: How did she get there? Where did she come from? And why is she dressed in early twentieth century clothing?
The cold, hungry woman utters only a single word: “Titanic.” Her dramatic declaration suggests the impossible, that something from the legendary 1912 disaster has resurfaced from the depths of time. John, a man obsessed with the 100 year-old tragedy, brings the young woman to an undisclosed observation room where, to save his own sanity, he must expose what can only be an elaborate hoax. Together with a reclusive last survivor of the Titanic sinking, and a doctor who has taken the young woman under her wing, John struggles with his own obsession to peel back the layers of the mystery. What he discovers leaves him with searing doubt, and a world of unanswered questions in the minds of the audience.
The play’s director, theatre veteran and accomplished actor Joanna McCauley Treffers, says that producing Scotland Road for the stage has been a challenging, hugely satisfying experience.
“One of the wonderful things about this play is that it doesn’t provide pat answers to the mystery; it leaves room for our own interpretations. Everyone in the cast has their own take on their role, and on the ultimate meaning of the play.”
In a life-imitates-art twist, McAuley Treffers’ says that one of the stars of Scotland Road is a lifelong Titanic fanatic.
“Jerry Logan, who plays John, lives and breathes Titanic lore — always has — so he brings his own obsessions to the role. The story is so fascinating that our cast is often more energized at the end of rehearsal than at the beginning. It’s been quite a journey, and we can’t wait to take our audiences along with us.”
By the way, if you’re wondering why a play centred around the Titanic would be called Scotland Road, the title actually provides an intriguing insight: there was a central corridor that ran the entire length of the ship, allowing crew members to pass from First Class to steerage. That passageway was called Scotland Road…
Scotland Road stars Jerry Logan, Mary Ann Majaury, Roberta Peets, and Jane Stott.
It premieres at the Studio Theatre on Thursday, February 2nd for seven shows, February 2, 3, 4, 10 and 11 at 7:30 pm, and February 5th and 12th at 2 pm.
Tickets
Tickets are $22 (cash only) at the Book Nook, 60 Gore St. E, and $22 plus convenience fee at Shadowfax, 67 Foster St., (613-267-6817; shadowfax.on.ca) and Tickets Please, in the Matheson House Museum Visitor Centre, 11 Gore St. E. (485-6434; ticketsplease.ca) both of which accept in-store, phone, online and credit card purchases. Tickets are $24 at the door, and $10 at the door for students with ID. Attend opening night and save $5!
Don’t miss your chance to see Scotland Road, enhanced by exciting new technology at the Studio Theatre. You’ll agree, it is a theatre experience with Titanic implications…
