by AMY BARRATT

By the time I made my way to the Repercussion Theatre press conference at the Baton Rouge on de la Montagne last week, it had begun to rain. The event planned for an outdoor terrasse had been hastily moved to a downstairs bar area. It’s a lesson the open-air theatre company learned long ago: Mother Nature frequently has the last laugh.

The press conference was billed as a 2006–2007 season launch, and also promised “historical news.” I didn’t know how something could be new if it was historical, but I found out: Repercussion was repeating an announcement they had made two months ago and pretending it was new. I guess they didn’t get the turn-out they had hoped for in April when they announced Kevin Orr was taking over from Cas Anvar as artistic director, so they decided to try again with cocktails and salmon hors d’oeuvres.

It was no secret that the Shakespeare-in-the-park company (which now wants to be known as “theatre in the parks,” by the way) would be offering a post-war Much Ado About Nothing with swing music this summer. Still, a lively dance number featuring an attractive young cast was a high point of the event. Musical director Tim Rideout’s Sinatra turn with canned music could have been dispensed with. (If you’re wondering why I should review a press conference, it’s because everything is such a production with this company that I simply can’t help myself).

When Kevin Orr got up to speak, it became immediately clear that he has lots of ideas and plans for the company. The big news (arguably historic, if not historical) is that after all these years, Repercussion will be “coming in from the warm” (Anvar’s coinage), producing shows within the regular theatre season as well as in summer. Orr, who has already put his mark on the company as a director (notably of the scaled-down Midsummer Night’s Dream set in New France that played local parks over the last two summers) has given the company a mandate that reaches beyond Shakespeare to encompass other classic works and especially new works exploring classical or mythological themes. Next summer, Repercussion plans to reach out to a francophone public, promising “one cast, one show, two languages.” The language of each performance will be determined by demographics in the area.

Late this fall, Orr will be remounting a production of Steven Berkoff’s Greek that he originally did in Ottawa, where he teaches at the University of Ottawa. The modern take on the Oedipus myth, set in London, will be performed under the shelter of MainLine Theatre.

When I asked Orr if this new mandate wasn’t rather similar to that of the New Classical Theatre Festival (the fourth edition of which gets underway Aug. 15), Orr admitted that he hadn’t been aware of the festival’s mandate until recently. Far from being troubled by the similarities, he sees it as an opportunity for possible co-productions in the future.

Stay tuned.

Much Ado About Nothing premieres July 22 in Park Extension’s Howard Park, and tours to Montreal-area parks until Aug. 15. For full schedule visit www.theatreintheparks.ca. Shows start at 7 P.M., Pay-what-you-can, 916-PARK

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