Show 56 #5 UP and COMING 2019

UP and COMING – The Show and it’s Performances

FAST FACTS:

Secretary flirting with politician
SHOW TIMES:

Evening Performances at 8 pm:
Thursday through Saturday
Matinee Performances at 2 pm:
Feb 24  & Mar 3.

SHOW RUN:

Feb 16 – Mar 9,2019

  • The Director’s Talk was Friday, February 22
  • The Preview was on Friday, February 15 – the final dress rehearsal.
LOCATION:

1370 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC.  Next to the on-ramp to the Arthur Lang Bridge by Marine Drive and Granville.

Sexy Vicky wrapped in a curtain
TICKET PRICING:

Tickets are $25 for adults or $22 for seniors and students, with a special every Thursday 2 for $37. Preview performance $15.

Tickets can be reserved by calling the Metro Box Office 604 266 7191 

BOX OFFICE WINDOWS HOURS:

Wed – Sat 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm & 1 Hour before each show.

604 266 7191 voicemail or Contact Us form below can be used at other times.

LICENSED LOUNGE HOURS:

Performance Evenings – 7:00 – 11:00 pm
Performance Matinees – 1:00 – 5:00 pm

PARKING:

There is plenty of easy parking – in the parking lot, on the street, even ‘All Evening Parking’ for $4 at the Value Liquor Store Lot just up the street from Metro – 1450 SW Marine Dr, Vancouver, BC V6P 5Z9

BUS ROUTES:

We’re close to the Marpole bus loop and on the #10 route. Check out www.translink.ca for transit directions.

CONTACT:

Metro Theatre via the contact form at the bottom of this page for more information, publicity photos, and arrangements for interviews.

Show Pictures:

Actors rehearsing the play in the scene shop
Up and Coming Laughs
Up and Coming Stutter
Up and Comming Set Rehearsal
Up and Coming | Edits

Press Release: UP and COMING

Metro Theatre is excited to bring UP and COMING – a comedy written by Eric Chappell and directed by Alison Schamberger to our stage February 16 – March 9.

Politicians talking poand pointing fingers

In this riotous bedroom farce a potential Prime Ministerial candidate, Philip Conway, is attending a conference at a Brighton hotel with an eye to becoming the party leader but his campaign is in serious danger of collapse.

Pip is  married, with a weak spot for women.  Visits from rivals, fellow conspirators and a scantily clad actress in his room, coincide rather unfortunately with a hotel lobby full of press and streets full of protesters.   Such dalliances go against the grain for a man with political ambition and Pip soon finds himself on the verge of a full-blown sex scandal.

Pip and the sexy Vicky with a Do not disturb sign

Director Alison Schamberger: “Someone once defined drama as “Man in a mess” and you couldn’t find anyone in a bigger mess than Pip Conway, Deputy Prime Minister of the Conservative Party in this play! He seems to be within easy reach of the top job as the current PM is in failing health, but every time he turns around, something else seems to make this increasingly improbable.  Improbability is, after all a key element in farce!

Tickets are $25 Adult or $22 Senior/Student with a special 2 for $37 every Thursday.

Cast and Production Team

The Cast of Up and Coming
CAST

Higgs………………………………………..……Matt Ireland
The Rt Hon Philip Conway MP…..….Simon Roberts
Vicky…………………………….……..………….Debbie Kagy
Lorna Fiske……………………….…………….Sophie Gardner
The Rt Hon George Reynolds MP….Rob Gillespie
Lionel Berryman MP………………….……Peter Robbins
The Rt Hon John Henderson MP…..Tom Kavadias….

PRODUCTION TEAM

Director…………………………….……..Alison Schamberger
Production Manager……………….Jon Morris
Stage Manager…………….…………..Al Zylstra
Asst Stg Mgr / Props……………….Colleen Shook
Asst Stg Mgr / Props……………….Melissa Chalkley
Set Designer……………………..……..Don Briard
Costume Designer………..……..…..Heike Maulhardt
Lighting Designer……………………Les Erskine
Technical Director………….………..Jamie Horsley
General Manager…………………….Les Erskine
Head Carpenter………………..……..Robin Richardson
Scenic Painting………………….……..Tracy-Lynn Chernaske
Set Decoration………………..……….Tracy-Lynn Chernaske
Publicity……………………………………Debra Danny
Graphic Design…………………………Barbara LaBounta
Wardrobe Manager………………….Sean Ullmann
Photography…………………….………Tracy-Lynn Chernaske

The Story

Set in1989 in Brighton, England, at a Conservative party conference, UP AND COMING pokes all kinds of fun at the follies and foibles of politicians who will seemingly stop at nothing to get to the top of the ladder.

Pip with the 2 other women complicating his life.

Philip Conway, Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the House is attending a party conference where he intends to make his thrust for power.  On the night in question, his position is compromised by various visitors including rivals, conspirators, his secretary who has a pursuit of her own, and the all too attentive Vicky whose love promises to be a peramnent  embrassment.  The world’s press occupy the lobby;   rumours of an assassination plot are circulating;  and  students are rioting outside the hotel – what a night!

Politicians chatting with a cigar and firecracker

Political plans go hilariously awry  as our central character struggles to keep his wits while “all about are losing their heads”.  Will Philip Conway fulfill his quest to take the top job and achieve his “destiny”? Who will get his, or her, just desserts? UP AND COMING keeps that question tantalizingly unanswered until the very end of the show.

Director’s Talk

Director Alison throwing up her hands with cast in background

Join irector Alison Schamberger and the cast of Up and Coming HAD AN INFORMAL CHAT immediately following the show on Friday, February 22, 2019. They talked about:

This play’s roots in British politics during the 1980s.
>> Has the political climate changed that much since then?
>> Does the humour play as well today as it might have done in the 1980s?
>> Enjoyment of farce relies heavily on suspension of disbelief.
>> Where in this play are there things that seem highly improbable?
>> What were the challenges facing mounting this production?