John Kelly had been waiting for the chance to direct the show for years.
When he first came to Canada from Ireland eight years ago, the rights to the Irish play Stones in His Pockets were available.
But unable to find work as a director, he watched as the show was snatched up by professional theatre companies already thriving in Ottawa. So he decided to create his own company, and SevenThirty Productions was born.
Now directing multiple plays each season, Kelly finally got his wish when the rights became available again last winter. And when the show opened the season for The Gladstone theatre on Sept. 7, the comedy by Irish playwright Marie Jones carried a lot of personal meaning for Kelly.
However, Kelly says choosing plays for the season isn’t always so emotionally loaded.
“What you’re trying to do every season is to build on the previous season’s success. We don’t have a whole new vision this season,” he says.
This year, four theatre companies will set out to entertain Ottawa theatre goers with a lineup of eight plays at 910 Gladstone Ave. While SevenThirty and Plosive Productions have been producing shows at the theatre for more than a year, this season welcomes two new players to The Gladstone. Black Sheep Theatre and Bear and Company are the beginning of what Kelly describes as an expansion that will be key to The Gladstone’s success.
“If a theatre is going to succeed, it can only succeed if it is part of a theatre community. And in order to do that, it has to become a venue that other theatre companies consider for themselves,” Kelly says.
Chris Ralph, The Gladstone’s spokesman and a member of Plosive Productions, describes the vision for the theatre’s future.
“The idea is that The Gladstone would become the home for independent theatres in Ottawa,” says Ralph.
“We want to give as many different companies the opportunity to produce as possible. I’m optimistic we’ve found a niche for that size of theatre in Ottawa.”
For Kelly, The Gladstone has given him the work he dreamed of eight years ago.
“The Gladstone has given me the chance to continue with theatre. I intend to do everything I can to make it work.”