THUNDER BAY — The New Canadian Curling Club by Mark Crawford will make its premier at Magnus Theatre on Thursday.
The show focuses on a fifth-generation Canadian character who is running a learn to curl group for newcomers to Canada.
“He winds up with a Syrian immigrant, a person from India, a Jamaican immigrant and a Chinese immigrant, all of whom have never curled before. There are language barriers, there are cultural barriers, there are his own systemic prejudices that he has, and their prejudices against each other, because everyone has a preconceived notion of what other people are,” said Thom Currie, artistic director at Magnus Theatre.
“There is this wonderful experience over the course of the show where they all open up to each other over this ridiculous game of curling, and learning to curl and learning to stay upright on the ice and all of those things,” he said.
Sanjay Talwar is an actor in the show playing Anoopjeet.
“Anoopjeet has been in Canada for just over nine years. He is a shift supervisor at the local Tim Hortons in town, (who hopes to become) assistant manager, and he has never curled before.
“The story really transcends curling or a new Canadian experience. There is something in the show that everyone will recognize having seen or been a part of, either at a curling rink or at a Tim Hortons or in any town in Canada.”
Talwar, originally from Halifax, said the story is brilliantly written.
“It's something that people can recognize, it's a more nuanced story than just simply any sort of black and white statement on the way things are in Canada or the way things are for people who come here,” he said.
With the Scotties Tournament of Hearts well underway in Thunder Bay, Currie said the play has been in the works for a while, but it worked well to line it up with the tournament.
“I had been looking at this play for a couple of years . . . and I was thinking about (bringing) this play back because I think it has a great message, not just for Thunder Bay, but for all of Canada. As we welcome newcomers, we're always a welcoming society, and what it must be like to be new to the country and experience something as odd as curling,” Currie said.
Currie said the challenge was building a curling sheet on the ice.
“It's a beautiful set. The challenges, of course, are making real rocks actually slide on the ice.
“The actors are amazing. We have five incredible performers filling the stage and really playing with each other as well as playing the game of curling,” he said.
The show will run until March 8. To get tickets, contact the box office at 345-5552, or visit the website to purchase.
