ATP providing free tickets to see Slipper: A Distinctly Calgarian Cinderella Story

On December 1st and 8th Alberta Theatre Projects is inviting refugees from Syria to attend a very special night of live theatre, free of charge thanks to the generous support of the Canada Council of the Arts and Sun Life Financial. Over the two performances, ATP is distributing more than 200 tickets to Calgary’s Syrian community with the help of local agencies, including the Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association and the Syrian Refugee Support Group Calgary.

The two Thursday evening performances will be performed in English, but will include a special welcome message from ATP in both English and Arabic, and a scene-by-scene synopsis of the story in Arabic will also be added to the program to assist any non-English speakers to follow along with the story.

The program, conceived by Artistic Director Vanessa Porteous in early 2016, came about in response to news stories she had been reading about the steady stream of refugees arriving in Calgary from the war-torn country.

“We wanted to find a way to make these newcomers to our city feel welcome,” says Porteous, “and the best way we knew how to do that was to invite them to take part in the Canadian holiday tradition of spending an evening at the theatre enjoying some light-hearted fun along with their families, friends and neighbours.”

Slipper: A Distinctly Calgarian Cinderella Story is an updated, comedic version of the classic fairy tale set in Calgary that was written and directed by Canadian theatre sensation Rebecca Northan, in collaboration with Christian Goutsis and Bruce Horak. Following in the British tradition of pantomime, it features physical comedy, pop culture references, audience participation, cross-dressing actors, pop song spoofs and plenty of jokes about life in Calgary.

“Slipper is a celebration of all the things I love about Calgary,” says Northan “and our gift for welcoming newcomers to Calgary is definitely among those. The show also explores themes around accepting people who are different from us, so this program seems like a natural fit.”

As a family show, Slipper is appropriate for kindergarten-age children, but includes plenty of laughs just for tweens, teens and adults, too.

For more information about the special performances for Syrians and how to get tickets, the full details can be found in English HERE or in Arabic HERE or by contacting Talore Peterson at tpeterson@atplive.com.

Slipper includes memorable performances from Anna Cummer, Chantelle Han, Ellie Heath, Sara-Jeanne Hosie, Kevin Kruchkywich and Joel Schaefer and there will be an opportunity to take pictures with the cast in the lobby after the performance.

Slipper: A Distinctly Calgarian Cinderella Story runs until December 31 at the Martha Cohen Theatre at Arts Commons (215 8 Ave. SE). Tickets are available at www.atplive.com or 403-294-7402.