Why enjoy one great show when you can enjoy two?
Theatre Underground presents You Didn’t Ask To Be Here and Donkey Derby in PAIRED UP, running September 11th through 13th at The Avalon Studios (738A Bank St).
In the world premiere of You Didn’t Ask To Be Here, join Charlie (a living Jack-in-the-box) for an evening of stories, puppets, dancing and a heartfelt journey to face her fears and break through the obstacles that life sometimes puts in our way.
PLUS
Immerse yourself in Irish culture and get a look at a Letterkenny lifestyle with stories of growing up in Ireland in Tess Mc Manus’s Donkey Derby. This is the critically acclaimed Donkey Derby’s first time back in Ottawa after its 2012 Ottawa Fringe Festival premiere and successful tour along the Fringe circuit that summer
That’s two great shows on one ticket for one stellar evening of entertainment.
(More info on both shows follows.)
SHOW DATES & TIMES:
- Friday, Sep 11th at 7:30pm
(Book/Buy Tickets) - Saturday, Sep 12th at 3:00pm
(Book/Buy Tickets) - Saturday, Sep 12th at 7:30pm
(Book/Buy Tickets) - Sunday, Sep 13th at 5:30pm
(Book/Buy Tickets)
*Both plays are approximately an hour each and run each night as one show. The show will run two hours plus a fifteen minute intermission.
TICKETS:
- $25: Standard Tickets
- $20: Seniors/Students/Artists
- $20: Group Rate (When ordering 5+)
- $30: Superfans only!
* Tickets can be at the door and can be booked or purchased in advance using the links above. (Remember: 100% of ticket sales are available in advance so buy yours now to avoid risk of sell out)
* Online payments are accepted securely via Paypal and Interac. We never receive any sensitive information.
You Didn’t Ask To Be Here
photo by Allan Mackey
(click for larger version)
A world premiere presentation, produced by Theatre Underground. You Didn’t Ask To Be Here is a one-act one-woman highly theatrical comedy told through storytelling, shadow puppetry, dance, and more. It is written and directed by Allan Mackey (the writer-director of the smash hit The Bureau of Bat Shit Crazy at the 2013 Ottawa Fringe Festival) and stars Megan Carty (seen recently in The Shape of A Girl, Bridge to the Past, and Up To Low at The Magnetic North Theatre Festival) as Charlie, the living jack-in-the-box.
Charlie is a living jack-in-the-box and leader of those stuck in the land of lost toys and discarded dreams. Childlike, and playful, she spends her time telling grand tales and avoiding dealing with her arch-nemesis, the self-named Great Enemy.
She’ll tell you all about Romeo & Zombie Juliet, how the Unicorns lost their horns, would be star quarterback John Tucker, and The Girl Outside.
Charlie is good at stories but she’s bad at facing her fears. And with the threat of the Great Enemy continuing to grow, her inability to do so puts everybody in danger.
Smile.
You Didn’t Ask To Be Here is about facing fears, confronting the obstacles holding you back, and how we choose to deal with the things that life throws at us. It also explores mental health and presents a portrait of what it’s like to live with mental illness.
You Didn’t Ask To Be Here is a Canadian Actors’ Equity Association production under the Artists’ Collective Policy.
Donkey Derby
photo by Allan Mackey
(click for larger version)
Produced by Little Green Hat, written and performed by Tess Mc Manus. Donkey Derby first premiered at the 2012 Ottawa Fringe Festival and earned rave reviews for Mc Manus before the show went on the road along the Fringe circuit to Winnipeg and Edmonton. Tess Mc Manus has graced many an Ottawa stage before making a move towards the bright lights of Toronto. She was most recently seen at the NAC with her other solo show, Tales She Tells, and at The Gladstone before that in The School for Wives.
Mary, a young Irish woman living close to the border of the Republic and North of Ireland is forced to work through her social anxiety after being entered into her town’s local donkey derby against her will. While providing cultural insight and a close-up look at growing up in Ireland, this play is more than just about a girl and her donkey. It’s about Ireland’s current political climate, how it impacts the lives of young people decades after the 1970s Troubles, and it’s about one girl’s plea for peace.
Watch this scene from Donkey Derby.
Paired Up
Paired Up is a semi-annual event where we bring two shows together to provide audiences one full and wonderful evening of entertainment.
We are always accepting applications and statements of interest for future iterations of Paired Up, so feel free to get in touch if you have or are working on a show (~one hour) that you want us to consider.
Our next event will be happening in spring 2016 and will be dealing with the theme of love.