The two sides of romance will get more than a second look as the St. Luke’s Players bring their latest offering to the stage.
The Saanich-based theatre company will bring their performance of Duets to St. Luke’s Hall from March 8 to 19.
“It’s actually four one-act plays, back to back to back. They’re all on the subject of romance,” said director Jon Scheer.
“It’s a lighthearted look at all the different relationships,” he said. “I think the audience will recognize a lot of the situations.”
Each of the four acts features a male and female role, with the four members of the cast – Mitch and Jo Barnes, along with Susan Ko and Michael Rodgers – performing double duty by appearing in two separate roles.
“To add to the fun, one pair acts together in the first part and in the second half they switch partners,” said Scheer. “It just livens things up a little bit, so you don’t get used to how two people react together. At least that was my thought, and it seems to be working.”
Duets offers a glimpse into four relationships, with each one playing out in roughly 30 minutes. The first act tells the story of a blind date, while the second looks at the relationship between an executive secretary and her boss. The third act features a couple on holiday in Spain who paid for the vacation before deciding to get a divorce. “You can just imagine the complications, nobody is happy with anything going on,” said Scheer.
And the final act features a woman and her brother on the day of her third wedding. “The third is not necessarily the charm in this case,” he said.
Scheer – who is working on his 10th show with St. Luke’s, his fifth as director – said the cast and crew have been working on the production since the first week of January. “Rehearsals got a little hung up courtesy of the snowfall,” he said.
Duets hits the stage for 7:30 p.m. shows March 8 to 11 and March 15 to 18, along with 2 p.m. matinees March 11 and 12 and March 18 and 19 at St. Luke’s Hall, 3821 Cedar Hill Rd. Tickets are $16, with two-for-one available for March 8 opening night. Tickets are available at the door, at The Papery on Fort Street or by searching St. Luke’s Players online at Eventbrite.ca.