March 4, 2010 - Douglas College production of The Suicide

Douglas College production of The Suicide promises laughs, music and madness

Need a laugh? You could find it somewhere unexpected.

The Suicide, the latest production by the Douglas College Theatre and Stagecraft & Event Technology departments, opens on March 19. The comedy about things that really aren't funny is a feast of gypsy bands, funeral marches and plate-smashing madness.

"The Suicide makes me laugh and empathize and eventually reflect upon the comedy implicit in my own struggles. I find such things to be of personal benefit," says director John Cooper.

The play, written by Nikolai Erdman in late 1920s communist Russia, tells the story of Semyon Semyonovich, an unemployed man who after a disagreement with his wife, locks himself in the bathroom. His wife mistakenly assumes he is suicidal. As word spreads of Semyon's desire for death, he is swept up in the idea of becoming a hero and agrees to kill himself during a banquet held in his honour.

"The themes of powerlessness, valuelessness, fear, frustration, and feeling unseen and unheard are as timely to us here today as they would have been then, had this play not been banned from performance in the Soviet Union," says Cooper.

So where does the humour come in?

"Though dark in content, this play takes form in comic farce. Though ultimately not without a small dark, ironic edge, it speaks to the resiliency of the human spirit," Cooper explains.

See The Suicide at the Studio Theatre (room 4100) at the New Westminster Campus of Douglas College, 700 Royal Avenue, New Westminster, March 19-27. Shows on March 19, 20, 23, 24, 24, 26 and 27 at 7:30pm, March 22 at noon and March 27 at 2pm. Tickets $7.50-$15. Purchase tickets in advance through the Massey Ticket Centre online or by calling 604-521-5050. Tickets can be purchased (cash-only) at the door, subject to availability. Tickets for the March 27 performances will be sold for $7.50 as part of World Theatre Day. For more information about the production, contact 604-527-5723.

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