Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP) is thrilled to be bringing W.O. Mitchell’s hilarious smash-hit comedy, The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, to the Martha Cohen Theatre at Arts Commons this February. Calgary will be heating up with incredible curling action and plenty of stories to share this February: the first week of the production coincides with the final week of the 2024 Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The story of The Black Bonspiel was first written by W.O. Mitchell as a short story in around 1947, and over the next forty-five years Mitchell adapted the story into several different mediums, including radio, television, and a novella. But it is as a stage play that the story of The Black Bonspiel really found its audience.
The Black Bonspiel follows Wullie MacCrimmon, a shoemaker in the 1930s foothills town of Wild Rose. When one day, Wullie muses aloud that he would give anything to skip his curling team in the MacDonald Brier, the Devil (a travelling salesperson who deals in wholesale souls and retail sin) suddenly appears and makes him an offer. Wullie makes a counter offer, and one of the greatest matches in curling history is on – the Black Bonspiel! When the Devil appears with a curling team—Judas Iscariot (lead), Lizzie Borden (second), and Macbeth (third)—Wullie and his team are in for one hell of a match.
ATP produced the show in 1997, but the first two professional stage productions were done by the Peterborough Festival of Canadian Theatre in 1977, and none other than Theatre Calgary in 1979 (the show was so successful, the company would remount the production the following season). The Black Bonspiel became a best seller, and over the next three years Lennoxville Festival, Magnus Theatre (Thunder Bay), Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg), Vancouver Playhouse, and Citadel Theatre (Edmonton) all mounted successful productions. To date there have been over seventy productions of the play.
This is a big show for ATP – not only in bringing back such a Canadian classic to Calgary audiences, but also requiring a large cast of ten with a set and costumes to match. From curling ice to wild effects, to the transformation of the theatre into 1930s small-town Alberta, the script demands a stage fit for the big stakes (and big comedy) of The Black Bonspiel. In November, the company ran a Giving Tuesday campaign with the goal of setting the stage for the show. The community came out in droves, demonstrating their passion for The Black Bonspiel as well as their incredible generosity, and far surpassed the original matching goal.
Calgarian theatre mainstay Christian Goutsis directs, and ATP fans will recognize Calgarian and comedic genius Kevin Corey as Wullie MacCrimmon. The mostly local cast also includes Kira Bradley, Sheldon Elter, Natascha Girgis, David Haysom, Emily Howard, Valerie Planche, Trevor Rueger, David Sklar and David Trimble.
Alberta Theatre Projects’ production of W.O. Mitchell’s The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon runs from February 20 – March 10 in the Martha Cohen Theatre at Arts Commons. And come find ATP at Chinook Blast in Olympic Plaza on Family Day (February 19) from 1-2pm for your chance to win free tickets to the show!
Tickets at albertatheatreprojects.com
Image: Kevin Corey, graphic design by Kurt Firla
