If you like your comedy with a bit of grit, the Langley Players’ spring production may be just the ticket.
Escape from Happiness, a dark comedy by award-winning Canadian playwright George F. Walker and directed by Helen Embury will also be the Players’ entry to the Fraser Valley Zone Festival, which will take place at the Langley Playhouse from May 17 to 23.
Running from April 16 to May 16, Escape from Happiness tells the story of the Quinns, a dysfunctional, yet highly entertaining family.
The play is set in the kitchen of a rundown house in a not-so-classy part of a large city. It is home to Nora, an oddball, middle-aged woman; her three daughters, who display a variety of neuroses; and an older man who may or may not be the girls’ father.
When the youngest daughter’s husband is beaten up by local thugs, the family is thrown into crisis.
Two criminals of questionable intelligence and two police officers who approach policing from different perspectives help to make Escape from Happiness a very funny, black, slice-of-life comedy.
“I was drawn to this play because of the very real, endearing characters developed by the playwright,” said director Helen Embury.
“As they struggle against ‘the world out there,’ they are not always successful, and yet as we empathize with their predicaments, we can’t help but laugh at their off-the-wall logic.
“This is the first time Langley Players have produced a George Walker play and our audiences will be in for a drama with many twists and turns.”
The cast of Escape from Happiness includes four local performers: Jacq Ainsworth as Elizabeth, Joanna Willams as Gail, Philip Hale as Junior and Mike Busswood as Tom.
Escape from Happiness runs Thursdays to Sundays from April 16 to May 16 at the Langley Playhouse, 4307 200 St. in Brookswood. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, with Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $15. Patrons should be aware the play contains some coarse language.
For reservations, visit langleyplayers.com or buy tickets online at brownpapertickets.com. Patrons may also email reservations@langleyplayers.com or call 604-534-7469.
