Plenty of laughs from A Dark and Stormy Knight in Inglewood

April 6, 2018 · 0 Comments

By Bill Rea
It is possible to sometimes break a lot of conventional rules and come up with something that works very well as a result.
That’s one way to describe A Dark and Stormy Knight, which is currently being presented by the Inglewood Schoolhouse Performers.
Written by Christopher Burruto, the play is set in medieval times, but there are more than enough contemporary references and breaking of the proverbial fourth wall (direct references to the fact that it is a play) to create a lot of fun-filled confusions, as well as a great many laughs.
It’s bad enough that the mysterious Dark Knight is robbing people, but stealing their entire retirement portfolios as well. There’s also a very brief imitation of former Toronto mayor Mel Lastman (“No-o-o-o-body!”)
The synopsis deals with young Princess Elenora (played by Brook McAree) who is bored with living in a castle and impatient with attempts to make her behave more lady-like. She wants to be a knight, but that’s not something young women aspired to in those days.
That leads to lots of suggestions that this play is a bit more contemporary. A guard outside a dungeon laments about the break-up of the Beatles. Elenora’s mentor Sir Hubert (Larry Flint) gets a quick lesson in political correctness when she straightens him out about referring to her as a swordsman. She’s not a swordswoman either. She’s a swordsperson.
Elenora is in line for the throne, but Lord Spencer (LeeAnn Goldthorp) and Klaus (Owen Goltz) have something to say about that. But she is aided along the way by two inept guards, Ogilvy (Scott Nichols) and Dennis (Luke McAree). They alternate between jousting practice and playing Rock Paper Scissors, all while supposedly on duty. A know-it-all wizard named Sam (Mike Fortin) also helps out (“I don’t need a lecture on evolution, since I invented it!” he declares at one point), and he’s assisted by a mouthy troll named Iggy (Tanya Nordin).
“Of all the trolls in the world, I had to find one who had mastered sarcasm,” Sam laments.
The play, directed by Kathie Maloney, is being presented at Inglewood Community Centre.
It’s not a very big room for a theatre. The stage is tiny and the cast numbers 14. But in the true spirit of community theatre, they just make it work. Some of the action actually takes place among the seats, and the show sometimes gets interactive.
The costumes, designed by Audrey Partridge, come close to stealing the show, combined with the props, organized by Peggy Dickey.
A Dark and Stormy Knight runs tomorrow (Friday) and Saturday at 8 p.m.
Call 905-838-2874 for more information.

Those appearing in the Inglewood Schoolhouse Performers’ current production of A Dark and Stormy Knight include Luke McAree, Tanya Nordin, Don Prior, Brook McAree, Sam Moore, Scott Nichols, Laurette Wyshnicki, Sheilagh Crandall, Owen Goltz, LeeAnn Goldthorp, Larry Flint, June norman, Mike Fortin, Leslie Prior and Dan O’Reilly.