Soulpepper is launching its 2024 season with two highly anticipated productions, each telling queer stories and each written by Canadian talent.

First is the Toronto premiere of Casey and Diana, written by Nick Green and directed by Andrew Kushnir, on stage for the first time in Toronto after an acclaimed sold-out run at Stratford Festival last year. Secondly is the World Premiere of De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail, adapted and directed by Gregory Prest with original music and lyrics by Mike Ross and Sarah Wilson. These two productions not only promise to engage audiences with their compelling narratives, but also feature writing by local Toronto talent.

Casey and Diana is a thought provoking new play set in Toronto’s Casey House, Canada’s first-free standing AIDS hospice, providing care and comfort to clients diagnosed with and dying of AIDS. In 1991, as this devastating epidemic was reaching its peak, Casey House received a historic visit from Diana, Princess of Wales. Casey and Diana is a gripping play that vividly captures a historic moment in time between caregivers, advocates, a princess, and people dying of AIDS. Cast includes Sean Arbuckle, Laura Condlln, Katherine Gauthier, Linda Kash, Davinder Malhi, and Sophia Walker.

“Since the Stratford production last Summer, I’ve had the opportunity to connect with many of the folks who founded, supported, and worked with Casey House. It’s been moving to hear that the script and Andrew’s direction led them to feel like they were inside those rooms again. My hope is that the Soulpepper production will give more people the chance to engage with such a poignant and significant piece of Toronto’s history, one that was centered on kindness, compassion, and the power of people coming together.” – Nick Green

Soulpepper also presents De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail. Adapted and directed by Gregory Prest with original music and lyrics by Mike Ross and Sarah Wilson, De Profundis is a musical fantasy based on the letter Oscar Wilde wrote to his love Lord Alfred Douglas while incarcerated at Reading Gaol. One page a day was written over a period of three months, collected at the end of each day, and handed over to Wilde on his release from prison. Cast features Damien Atkins as Oscar Wilde, alongside Jonathan Corkal-Astorga and Colton Curtis

“I am absolutely thrilled to bring ‘De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail’ to the stage at Soulpepper as a ground-breaking musical adaptation. ‘De Profundis’ is, without a doubt, the greatest love letter ever written and a seminal queer work, and it has been an incredible journey adapting this rich and astonishing source text.” – Gregory Prest

“ What I love about these two plays that they each re-examine parts of our past in ways that feel current and resonant in our present lives, they speak to isolation and a need to find community and connection.  ” – Soulpepper Artistic Director, Weyni Mengesha

CASEY AND DIANA

January 23, 2024 to February 11, 2024 at 7:30pm (Mondays are dark).  Weekend and Wednesday matinees at 1:30 pm and Pay What You Choose Tuesdays.

Previews January 23, 2024 and January 24, 2024 at 7:30pm. Opening Night: January 25, 2024 at 7:30pm. 2 hours and 30 minutes (including 20-minute intermission)

Baillie Theatre, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane 

Tickets range from $25.00 to $65.00 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION USING #spCaseyandDiana

DE PROFUNDIS: OSCAR WILDE IN JAIL

 February 1 to February 18, 2024 at 8:00pm (Mondays are dark). Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm and Pay What You Choose Tuesdays 

Previews: February 1 to 7, 2024 at 8:00pm. Opening Night: February 8, 2024 at 8:00pm. 100 minutes (no intermission)

Michael Young Theatre, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 50 Tank House Lane

Tickets range from $36.00 to $87.00 

JOIN THE CONVERSATION USING #spDeprofundis

 

 

 


Connect with Soulpepper: 

 

Twitter: @soulpepper

Instagram: @soulpeppertheatre

Facebook: /soulpeppertheatre

YouTube: /soulpeppertheatre

 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats.