Portal Players cleaned up at the 2024 Theatre BC North Island Zone Drama Festival, which was hosted by our club at The Capitol Theatre. Six awards were given by adjudicator Robinson Wilson to our production of Martin McDonagh’s “The Pillowman”:

• Best Production – which now advances to Theatre BC’s Mainstage Festival in Chilliwack in early July
• Best Director, Nicole Foster – in a tie with Nanaimo Theatre Group’s Nikita Towe for “All In The Timing”
• Best Actor in a Male Role – Cydney Pedersen
• Best Supporting Actor in a Male Role – Scott Lemkay
• Best Set – Nicole Foster
• Best Lighting Design – Diena Tyne

Four additional performances have been scheduled to help raise funds for Portal Players travel costs to attend Mainstage in Chilliwack – see dates above. Tickets available online below.

Our partners at the Alberni Valley News have prepared an excellent article about the Festival and Portal Players’ wins: AV News, “The Pillowman”.

In a totalitarian state a writer is questioned by the authorities about a spate of murders that bear similarities to his short stories. Is this life imitating art or something more sinister? This black comedy is widely regarded as one of the greatest plays of the past 25 years and examines the role of the artist in society. It asks “what price do we pay for freedom of expression?”.  “The Pillowman” was awarded the 2004 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play, and was a 2005 Tony Award nominee for Best New Play.

Playwright Martin McDonagh is an Acadamy Award winner and has been nominated for six additional Academy Awards. Among his many credits, McDonagh wrote and directed the films In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin.

This show is for mature audiences only and includes advisories for a loud noise, racist & graphic language, discussion of infanticide, and live fire. We reserve the right to turn away minors without a guardian present.