Scandals and skeets: Rising Tide Theatre back with Revue 2018
Rising Tide Theate kicks off its cross-province Revue tour Wednesday night, continuing its annual tradition of comedy, satire and commentary about some of 2018's strangest and quirkiest events in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"We wanted to take the whole story of the harassment in the House (of Assembly) and we wanted to tell that whole story because it's really one of the biggest stories of the year," Donna Butt, Rising Tide Theatre's artistic director, told CBC Radio's St. John's Morning Show.
Rising Tide's Revue started in 1984 as a three-night show. More than 30 seasons later, the show is a month-long tour that takes the troupe's comedic take on Newfoundland and Labrador politics and other current events from St. John's to Labrador.
The show, which launches at the Arts and Culture Centre, will also feature satirical performances about the Muskrat Falls inquiry, the bear spray attack at Prince of Wales Collegiate, jabs at Nalcor and even more jabs at Confederation Building.
One scene involves actors portraying MHAs Dale Kirby, Eddie Joyce, Sherry Gambin-Walsh and Pam Parsons singing about smoking marijuana in a Gander hotel parking lot to the tune of Grease's Summer Nights — or what Rising Tide calls Convention Nights.
"We call it Greaser. It's full of dialogue, and stories, and songs and dances," Butt said.
"It's kind of a play within a play that really tries in a fun and clever way, we hope, to recount all the events. So we thought it was one of the key ones that we should deliver back and share our view of it with the audience."
New additions, new perspectives
This year's Revue will be the first for actor Evan Mercer. He said he likes being part of the tradition of the show, and appearing on the Arts and Culture Centre's mainstage in St. John's is the cherry on the cake.
"That's a wonderful honour," Mercer said.
"There's a lot of pressure to keep up to the expectations of past, but I believe we're doing it to the best of our abilities and hopefully bringing a little new flavour as well."
While Mercer portrays Eddie Joyce, something he says is sort of a challenge, he also tackles the role of Olympic figure skating medalist Kaetlyn Osmond .
"It's a nice, fun, cartoon version of that world that we've really put up there," he said.
"But I'm having a great time with that bit."
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
