DEEP COVE CULTURAL CENTRE, 4360 Gallant Ave. 604-929-9456.
DEEP COVE HERITAGE SOCIETY:
Hours: Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Wednesday through Sunday, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; closed Mondays.
604-929-5744, deepcoveheritage.com
• Annual theatre night fundraiser – a performance of the much-loved English comedy, Shirley Valentine, rounds out an evening that will include a silent auction, sweet treats and plenty of mingling. It is a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Join the fun on Wednesday, May 9, at 7 p.m. in the Deep Cove Cultural Centre. Tickets are $25 each, seating is limited, call 604-929-5744 to make your reservation.
• The heritage office has books including its own histories of the area: Echoes Across the Inlet covers history of the Seymour area up to around 1950; Echoes Across Seymour is from the 1950s forward. Please note, these can be purchased by cash or cheque only.
• The online photo archives have grown from more than 600 photos to more than 1,400! To view the photos go to deepcoveheritage.com and follow the link to the archives.
SEYMOUR ART GALLERY
Gallery and gift shop, featuring original arts and crafts made by local artists, is open Tuesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; closed Mondays and statutory holidays. 604-924-1378 seymourartgallery.com
• Of Things I Can’t Unthink – Ceramic sculptor Susannah Montague’s highly symbolic and eerily beautiful sculptures at once draw you in, and repel you. In each of Montague’s surreal porcelain sculptures, there is narrative to be discovered. Using a combination of hand building, press molds, and slip casting to build her sculptures, she also references traditions from ceramic fine-craft and art history. In her most recent body of work, Montague uses symbols such as fading flowers, bubbles, skulls, and insects to represent death and the transient nature of life. These symbols, interspersed with casts of toys including dolls, helicopters, and bunnies, take on a slightly sinister feeling in their modern compositions. Montague’s exhibition examines the cycles in our lives and asks us to revel in the beauty of the absurd. Exhibition runs until April 14.
• Start with Art – Join the Seymour Art Gallery for its 14th annual Start with Art exhibition. This truly unique show focuses on encouraging young people to appreciate, collect, and curate their own art collection – with a special price list just for kids ages 16 and younger. Exhibiting artists also offer advice for budding artists and frequently spark the idea in kids that one day their work could be shown in a gallery, too. Artists this year include Kristian Adam, Crissy Arseneau, Amelia Butcher, Shima Itabashi, Sandeep Johal, Anne Love, Ron Love, Megan Majewski, Liane McLaren, Meghan Parker, Tessa Reed, Robin Reid, Sarah Ronald, Bronwyn Schuster, M. A. Tateishi, and Kate Whitehead. Exhibition runs April 21 to June 2. Meet the Start with Art artists and enjoy button-making and face painting at a special reception, Sunday, April 22, 2-4 p.m.
DEEP COVE SHAW THEATRE
The two resident theatre groups are:
Deep Cove Stage Society
604-929-3200, deepcovestage.com
First Impressions Theatre
604-929-9456, firstimpressionstheatre.com
• Blithe Spirit – a comedy by Noel Coward, directed by Jacqollyne Keath for Deep Cove Stage. A timeless comedy exploring love and marriage. Charles Condomine’s dinner party turns into mayhem when a seance led by Madame Arcati provokes the ghost of Elvira, his late first wife, and only Charles can hear her. Will Charles ever be free of Elvira? Or will his new wife, Ruth, also join her in haunting him too? It’s Madame Arcati to the rescue again! Starring Dayna Schindell, Mary Stockwell, Andrew Lissett, Douglas Perri, Kathleen Kelly-Driscoll, Jacqollyne Keath and Ruby Hobbs. Order tickets online at deepcovestage.com or call 604-929-3200.
• Shirley Valentine – a comedy centring on Shirley, a Liverpudlian housewife. Her kids have left home and she makes chips and egg for her husband while talking to the wall. Where has her life disappeared to? Out of the blue, her best friend offers her a trip to Greece for two weeks and she secretly packs her bags. She heads for the sun and starts to see the world and herself very differently. Willy Russell’s heart-warming one-woman comedy play premiered in 1986 and took the world by storm. Now, on its 30th anniversary, Louise Porter (Always Patsy Cline, On a First Name Basis) stars in a Deep Cove premiere of this English national treasure. Directed by Ryan Crocker. Shirley Valentine will be staged May 10-26. Order tickets online from firstimpressionstheatre.com or call 604-929-9456. ■
