By Jessy Ardern
Conceived by The Fox Den Collective
Directed by Suzie Martin
SEPTEMBER 8-20, 2026 – Prairie Theatre Exchange
An interactive love letter to live theatre. R+J: Closing Night features two concurrent plays; Romeo and Juliet, and a new script based on the relationships of a fictionalized cast and crew backstage.
Audiences are split in half, changing locations at intermission as the production “rewinds” to the beginning.
When the production of Romeo and Juliet goes awry, the backstage audience members are invited to actively participate in problem-solving, involving them in the action of the production.
Please note: This production involves some audience participation. Please fill out the form on the checkout page to indicate your comfortability level with this aspect. Not everyone will be called upon.
You can change your mind at any time before the performance by contacting the box office. If you are buying tickets for more than one person, please send the form to all attendees.
Special Performances
Pay What You Can Previews: Tuesday, September 8th and Wednesday, September 9th @ 7:30pm.
Talkback Performance: Sunday, September 13th @ 2:00pm.
Relaxed Environment Performance: Wednesday, September 16th @ 7:30pm.
Audio-Described Performance: Saturday, September 19th @ 7:30pm.
Relaxed performances are meant to be sensory-friendly and inclusive for patrons who may benefit from a casual environment in the theatre.
R +J: Closing Night will have a relaxed environment performance because we will be adopting some, but not all, of the aspects of a traditional relaxed performance.
We will have more information about this coming soon, complete with a visual guide and the features we will be implementing!
From VIEW Winnipeg:
Audio description is the process of describing the key visual elements of an event (eg. a play, film, dance performance), so that blind/low vision audience members can fully enjoy and participate in the story. Before the show begins, our describers give a rich and detailed description of the setting, costumes, and performers, as well as any other important visual details. During the show, our describers fill in key visual information so audiences can follow the story and feel the full impact of the art, while taking care not to speak over the dialogue.
How does it work?
Our describers sit in the back of the theatre and describe the show live into a microphone. The microphone is equipped with a rubber mouthpiece that creates a seal so that the rest of the audience can’t hear them speaking. When patrons arrive at the event, they are given an earpiece and a receiver with adjustable volume. Patrons can also use their own earbuds if they so choose. This receiver connects to the microphone, so the patrons can hear the describer in one ear and can hear the show through the other.
Alexander Ariate is a multidisciplinary artist, who holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting from the
University of Alberta as well as a Diploma in Theatre Performance from Mount Royal University. Alex combines his highly technical and classical acting training with a healthy love of clowning and comedy to create honest, physical, dynamic, “never boring” theatre.
Selected theatre acting credits include, Cyrano De Bergerac (Citadel Theatre/RMTC/The Grand) The Odd Couple (Teatro Live); The Play That Goes Wrong (Citadel Theatre/Theatre Calgary/RMTC/The Grand); Death of a Salesman, The Three Musketeers, and Peter Pan Goes Wrong (Citadel Theatre/Arts Club); HEIST (Vertigo Theatre/Citadel Theatre); Murder on the Orient Express (Vertigo Theatre); The Wizard of Oz, The Importance of Being Earnest, CLUE (Citadel Theatre)
Alex would like to thank his family, friends, and Andrea for their constant love and support
Alissa is an adventurous prairie artist and educator, from Treaty 1 Territory. Her theatrical work is inspired by her passions for music, clown, and physical theatre. She is an alumna of Brandon
University’s Bachelor of Music and Education programs and was the recipient of their Distinguished Young Alumni Award in 2020. Last fall, Alissa completed her MFA in Directing at the University of Alberta with her thesis production, Jen Silverman’s The Moors. Alissa is a founding member of the clown duo The Red Nose Diaries and Winnipeg’s all-female bouffon ensemble, The Talentless Lumps. She also sings and plays washboard with the sweet and cheeky Fu Fu Chi Chi Choir.
Recent acting credits include: Rattle (Root Sky and Theatre Incarnate), Narrow Bridge (Winnipeg Jewish Theatre), Meet Me at Dawn (Theatre by the River), and Sense & Sensibility (RMTC).
Andrés (They/He) is a Colombian-born actor, director, and producer who is thankful to be telling this story in Treaty 1 territory. They fell in love with theatre in their teens and have since worked professionally on stages from Edmonton to Dublin. They presently work as a freelance actor, director, and co-producer with Azimuth Theatre in amiskwaciwâskahikan. They are deeply inspired by the creation process and feel fortunate to get to learn from the artists they work with. Special thanks to my family and chosen family, los amo.
Directing Credits: Ecos (Diaspora Diaries), Importance of Being Earnest* (Theatre Calgary), Fibonacci Sequence (Azimuth Theatre) *Assistant Director
Acting Credits: Footloose (Mayfield Dinner Theatre), Vinyl Cafe (Citadel Theatre), Streetcar Named Desire (Citadel Theatre) 333 (Theatre Outré), The Born-Again Crow (Gwaandak Theatre), Hamlet in Isolation (Thou Art Here), Working It Out (Work Plays).
Find me on Instagram! @ Andres._.FM
Annette is an actor, director, teacher & producer working in theatre for over 30 years. She’s the Original Artistic Director and 2012 co-founder of SkirtsAfire and co-founder and 25-year Artistic Associate of Freewill Shakespeare Festival (FWP), both beloved Edmonton festivals. As an actor, some favorite roles include Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing (Sterling Nomination), Elizabeth in Richard III (Both FWP), Fly Me To The Moon, Shadow Theatre, Rabbit Hole ATP Calgary, Strike The Musical, Workshop West Theatre, A Christmas Carol, The Citadel Theatre, Little Women, the Broadway Musical and Dream with Rosebud Theatre. She is a top 3 finalist for a Christopher Plummer Award of Excellence in Shakespeare, a 2019 Global Woman of Vision Award, a 2022 Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal and recipient of 2 Sterling Awards. She is absolutely thrilled to be working with Theatre Projects Manitoba on this unique, brilliant production. Sending love to Terry, LJD&R
Arne MacPherson is a Winnipeg-based theatre maker who has dedicated his 35-plus years as an artist to creating live performance, starting out as an actor, then moving into theatre direction, and then into movement-based experimental work.
He has worked on all of Winnipeg’s professional stages, and across Canada, including at the National Arts Centre. His practice has focussed extensively on new work (he has helmed more than two dozen premieres), Shakespeare (he was a founder of Shakespeare in the Ruins), and independent theatre (he has directed and co-produced dozens of indie productions).
TPM shows he has worked on include: A Short History of Crazy Bone, Stretching Hide, Encore, Noble Savage, Savage Noble, Cruel and Unusual Punishment.
Devised/experimental theatre and contemporary dance performances include: Glory! (We Quit Theatre), Moving In, Moving Out, (Weather Parade Dance Theatre), petites danses (Chartier Danse/Gearshifting), Much Too Much to Say (Company Link/Zorya Arrow).
Through his association with sick + twisted theatre, Arne has worked extensively with the Deaf and disability performance community. In 2022, he co-produced and directed Antigone, a new musical adapted from Anne Carson’s translation of Sophocles, which featured a cast of deaf, blind, disabled, and able-bodied performers.
Chael Donald [they/them] is a Winnipeg-based performer and recent graduate from the University of Winnipeg Theatre and Film Department’s Honours Performance program. Their previous credits include A Bright Room Called Day Revisited and Unity, 1918, both with the University of Winnipeg THFM. They are so excited to be a part of this production, and sincerely hope you enjoy the show!
David graduated from the Studio 58 Theatre Program in Vancouver and has an MFA degree in performance from York University. He has worked in theatres across the country, (including three different productions of Romeo and Juliet). He now resides in Edmonton where his most recent performances include: The Hooves Belonged to the Deer for In Arms Theatre Collective, Happy Birthday Baby J for Shadow Theatre, The Ugly One for Kill Your Television, and When the Rain Stops Falling for Studio Theatre. He also toured Newfoundland in Dedication for RCA Theatre. He has acted in numerous film and TV roles; including Passchendaele, and Blackstone. He is a Professor in the Drama Department at the University of Alberta, where he teaches Acting, and Voice and Speech.
Gwendolyn Collins is a theatre and film actor, writer, producer, director, devised theatre creator and the Co-Artistic Producer of One Trunk Theatre based on Treaty 1 Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Recent theatre credits include Munsch upon a Time; Prairie Theatre Exchange, The Goose; Tin Fish, Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad, The Comeback, The Piano Teacher, Last Train to Nibroc and Alice Through the Looking Glass; Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Tiny Treasures, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe; Manitoba Theatre for Young People and directing The Martian and the Mound; One Trunk Theatre & Theatre Projects Manitoba. She has championed rural collaborations Small Town Ghost Stories with artists from Arborg and Talking Roots with artists from Pinawa, Altona, Morden and Neubergthal.
Jack Maier is an actor, translator, and accessibility worker born and raised on Treaty 1 Territory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. His recent acting credits include Inédit, as well as Pauline Boutal, Entre les Toiles et les Planches, which was presented as part of Théâtre Cercle Molière’s 100th season. He will be in their upcoming season opener Les Fourberies de Scapin this October. Jack is also Cercle Molière’s in-house translator, having translated their plays into English for the past 3 seasons. He is a founding member of Vocal Image Ensemble Winnipeg (VIEW), who provide audio description for theatre, dance, and other live art for those who are blind/low vision. Jack dedicates this performance to his dad.
Laurel Fife is a bilingual (EN/FR) actor of British and mixed-Asian descent, born in London, England and raised in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She graduated from the National Theatre School of Canada this May and is delighted to be back in Winnipeg performing in R&J: Closing Night!
Selected theatre credits include Atreyu in The NeverEnding Story (NTS), Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (NTS), Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress (NTS), Heather in Assistance (Wpg Fringe), Pool No Water (Wpg Fringe), and Ange in I Think we are Alone (UofW).
Selected film credits include Francesca Quinn, PI (Hallmark) and Maria and the Mennos (YesTV).
Laurel approaches every role, project, and endeavor with curiosity and a cheeky sense of humour! She is ever grateful for the devoted support from her family, friends and community, xoxo. Catch her as young adventurer Peg in Peg and the Yeti at MTYP this fall!
Samuel Benson is a Winnipeg-based actor and is making his Theatre Projects Manitoba debut with this season’s R+J: Closing Night. Samuel is a 2025 graduate of the Honours Theatre program at the University of Winnipeg and has since worked on a variety of student and fringe shows. Samuel then made his professional debut earlier this year with MTYP’s Tad and Birdy, touring around all of Manitoba and even one very small section of Saskatchewan. He is extremely excited to reunite with director Suzie Martin and to hang up his Birdy wings so he can delve into the role of Seb, who, in turn, is excited to delve into the role of Romeo. He is very thankful to his family, friends, professors and all who have supported his acting journey thus far.
To be announced!