Last week, I was invited to the dress rehearsal of Dark Horse Theatre’s Fringe play “The Last Night of the World”. It was quite interesting to watch the process as the writer, director and actors got ready for the rehearsal.
I sat down with co-directors Mike Seccombe (who also wrote the script), Karl Eckstrand and some of the cast of the play before the rehearsal and they explained how the play came about.
Most of the actors have been in many Fringe plays over the years. One of the actors has been acting since she was three years old. Mike and Karl have worked together for 15 years, forming Dark Horse Theatre in 2009.
Cast OF “The Last Night of the World” (L-R): Martin Howell, Mike Seccombe, Ariel Leo, Anne-Marie La Porte, Karl Eckstrand, Sami Desiree, Arden Pruden (Dave Pruden – not pictured).
Seccombe wrote the script about four years ago after pondering the thought, “How would I spend my last night on earth if the world was to end the next day?”
The play premiered at the Gimli Summer Theatre Festival two years ago with much success. This year they decided to bring the play to the Fringe. While most of the cast is from the original, they recruited three new faces to the production as the other three had prior commitments.
As I mentioned, it was quite interesting to watch the process. Just as the rehearsal started, I could see the creativity flowing as Seccombe tweaked a few things.
It was interesting watching the dress rehearsal on the improvised set. /DOUG KRETCHMER
The directors gave the actors lots of creative freedom to bring their ideas into the script to expand on their roles.
So, the world is supposed to end the next morning and Chester (played by Mike Seccombe) has already sold or given away all of his possessions and he decides that he just wants to be alone at his cottage.
What follows is an interesting cast of characters showing up, unexpectedly and unannounced, at his doorstep. One of the people turns out to be ‘the girl of his dreams.’
I found the play to be quite hilarious and very well acted. Looking forward to seeing the play again on a proper stage. Even though it was a dress rehearsal, the theatre troupe improvised with their set.
Price: $10.00 ($8.00 for matinees, Students & Fringe Performers)
Venue 13 – School of Contemporary Dancers
211 Bannatyne Ave.
Thu. July 20 @ 6:00 p.m.
Sat. July 22 @ 7:30 p.m.
Sun. July 23 @ 4:15 p.m.
Mon. July 24 @ 5:30 p.m.
Wed. July 26 @ 12:30 p.m.
Thu. July 27 @ 8:15 p.m.
Sat. July 29 @ 2:00 p.m.
About Dark Horse Theatre
Karl Eckstrand and Mike Seccombe have been collaborating as performers since 2002 in many different guises. They founded Dark Horse Theatre in 2009, and debuted ‘Lunatic Fringe’ in that year’s Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Karl and Mike would subsequently act with such theatre troupes as Shoestring Players and Relativity Theatre, but keep the Dark Horse dream kindled.
Then in 2015, Dark Horse Theatre hit Gimli with a bang with their first performance of “The Last Night of the World”. It was a smashing success. Dark Horse would return to Gimli and the Winnipeg Fringe in 2016 with “The Companion”, a sci-fi exploration of love and what it means to be human. “The Last Night of the World” makes its return in 2017 to Gimli, and its debut at the Winnipeg Fringe.
Dark Horse Theatre is a group of people, working together to create original works. We all contribute our artistic opinions and unique talents. We respect the artistic process, the stage and most of all our audience! https://www.facebook.com/darkhorsetheatre/
Click here for more reviews and stories from Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival 2017
Doug’s look at the process of what goes into making a play come alive is really fascinating, and the playwright’s premise as described is nothing short of profound: one day to go, what to do, and how to deal with the folks dropping by?
A great, multifaceted teaser, Doug. Have to see the play!
Shirley Kowalchuk