Talk about coming home again: after last year's smash-hit run, Oakville's West End Studio Theatre (WEST) is bringing its holiday production of Home for Christmas back to the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts this weekend.
After its premiere last November 2021, the play is now running until November 19 at the Oakville Centre's main stage. The play is based on Lloyd C. Douglas' 1937 novel and dramatized by Anne Coulter Martens.
This is the final production for WEST this season, after near sold-out runs of The Laramie Project and Art earlier this year in the studio theatre.
But this show brings them back to the main stage, as now one of only two companies in Oakville still locally producing live theatre.
The show's official description reads: "In this charming, humourous, Christmas tale, the Clayton family has scattered to every part of the country. In an effort to turn back the clock and relive Christmas from their childhood, the family comes together to recapture something they seem to have lost."
"It feels great being back," says director Yo Mustafa. "It's great because we have some actors back from last year's show, and some playing different parts, but we also have lots of great new members to the cast."
One of the actors who's switched roles is Nectaria Bogdanis, taking over the role of Nancy (pictured below) after playing Mrs. Packer in the 2021 production. She says everything from rehearsals to being on stage has felt different this year.
"This is my first production where it doesn’t feel as restricted when there were more protocols," says Bogdanis. "Rehearsing with masks changed how we reacted and build relationships in the cast because we don’t want to be too close." While there are still health protocols in place, "this year has been a lot easier."
"One thing I love about doing theatre is the camaraderie and being close with our cast and crew. I feel like that was easier to develop this time. There’s some awesome people in this show."
Among those awesome people is Rod McTaggart as Mr. Clayton, patriarch of the extended Clayton family.
"It's always fun," says McTaggart. But for the play's second year, he thinks, "the expectations are always higher. The exploration of the text is more intimate the year. This play will make you feel what Christmas and family really means."
He's got a special personal event too: the closing night of the play this weekend will also be his 45th wedding anniversary, and in between the two shows he's having dinner with his own family
"We're celebrating 45 years of wedded bliss," he says. "It’s resonant doing s family Christmas show at this time in my life. My parents are gone, and I’m now the grandpa. But like in the play, my own family is coming together for this special occasion."
Nectaria adds, "This show is a great way to prep for seeing your own family this season."
"This play is about a real family that we experience in our own ways. When we get together with our family, there are hopes and dreams of how great its going to be - and then you get together and there’s the reality of family dysfunction. To me, it’s comforting to see that perfect families aren’t normal. This show has both aspects of that: the dreams and challenges."
Home for Christmas was the first locally produced play to re-open the Oakville Centre last November, and is now a rare return engagement for any in-town production. Mustafa says, "It's really great we get to bring this back for a second year because the show is so good."
But why is it so important the community comes back to the local theatre? As Mustafa says, "It’s good for the soul. Live entertainment was hit hard by COVID-19 because its audience oriented. If there’s no audience there’s no show, so it's important to support the local theatre and all live theatre. Period."
Mustafa goes on to say, "Supporting local business means supporting the theatre business - here in Oakville, Halton, in Canada or in Timbuktu - it doesn’t matter. People need to support the local business and mean it."
Home for Christmas is now running at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts at 130 Navy Street until Saturday, November 19, 2022. Tickets for the in-person performances and streaming at home are available here online through the Oakville Centre box office.
The Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts is a division of the Recreation and Culture department of the Corporation of the Town of Oakville that operates with additional support from the Ontario Arts Council, Canadian Heritage and a number of generous sponsors.