Dark comedy opens Thursday at VIU

Vancouver Island University Theatre department’s fall production of The Arsonists, opens at Malaspina Theatre at the Nanaimo campus on Thursday, Nov. 4.

The show is unique in that director Barbara French, costume designer Michelle Kuzilla-Spoor and set designer Wendy Karpulik are all alumni of the theatre program.

French graduated from VIU’s Theatre program in 1997. She went on to get a Master of Fine Arts in theatre and recently moved back to the Island. Kuzilla-Spoor, who graduated in 2007, lives in Nanaimo and has worked on a number of VIU productions along with Mellissa Paulger (2001 graduate) and Tracey Paisley. Karpulik has returned to VIU to get a BA with a Theatre minor.

The Arsonists is a new translation (by Alistair Beaton) of Max Frisch’s black comedy The Firebugs. The original work, first produced as a radio play in 1953, was written as a parable of the Nazi takeover of Europe. The play’s universal themes still speak clearly, reminding us of the dangers of complacency. Despite the serious subject matter, The Arsonists is an intriguing comedy, providing a humorous peek into our hopes and fears for the future.

The play tells the story of a wealthy man (Biedermann) who, in his desperation to uphold the status quo, refuses to acknowledge the terror that is unfolding under his own roof. In a city plagued by arson, Biedermann allows two homeless strangers to charm their way into his attic, convinced that he is too savvy to be taken in by conmen. The arsonists quickly fill the attic with gasoline barrels, delighting in their host’s blind complacency. As the play unravels, we see how Biedermann is led, step by desperate step, toward his own destruction.

Evening shows run Nov. 4, 5, 6, 10, 12 and 13 at 8 p.m. There is one matinee on Nov. 9 at 4 p.m.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors, and available at the box office by calling 250-740-6100.