‘The Foreigner’ returns to Hatrix
By Steffanie Costigan - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on May 9, 2023.
Theatre is not just entertainment but a way to put ourselves within another’s perspective and come out discovering more about ourselves; it is this experience Hatrix Theatre hopes to achieve.Hatrix will be reprising the 10th-year anniversary of the production of “The Foreigner.”
The play was written by Larry Shue and is a comedy. Karolyn Harker, founder and director of Hatrix Theatre, shared more background behind the protagonist character Ellard and the meaning behind the story.
“He becomes very fond of these people that he’s living with. Even though he can’t speak their language, he makes up his own, and they become very fond of him because they can tell him secrets and they know he can’t understand anything they’re saying, except we know he can. And it’s a sweet little play about how one character can change the lives of other characters and make it better and his as well,” she said.
It’s been 10 years since The Foreigner was last produced; two of the original cast members from the first production have retained their roles in this year’s production.
Richard Amery, actor who played the role of Ellard, expressed the enjoyment he has had coming back into that role.
“It’s been fun stepping back into the overalls. . . it’s been really interesting coming back to Ellard. I’ve played a lot of different characters since then. And Karolyn just seems to like me as Ellard so she cast me again as him because she really wanted to have as many of the original cast as we could. Just kind of reprising it, but I’ve enjoyed it,” said Amery.
A few of the cast members are travelling a distance to participate in this year’s production. Maren Coates, who plays Catherine, and Michael Dyck, who plays Staff Sgt. Froggy Laseur, commute from Fort Macleod three times a week in order to make rehearsals.
Jocelyn Steinborn, who plays Betty Meeks, and recently won the best actress award and best director in the Chinook One Act Play Festival commutes from Taber. Steinborn shared the enjoyment and laughs the audience can expect to experience at the show.
“Well, for sure, it’s a funny show, and part of it is the physicality of it. And the other part is that these are just simple folk, and their mistakes or the miscommunications are what makes the play funny. And also, us trying to nail our accents also can be funny depending on the night,” Steinborn said.
The performance is taking place at McNally Arts Center (210075 township road 82) and will run from Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are can be purchased at http://hatrix.ticketleap.com/. Admission is $20 per person. 2
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