Any Idiot Can Face A Crisis: The Comedy of Anton Chekhov

Adaptation by Andy Massingham and the Company.
Directed by Andy Massingham

August 6 – 7 pm (Preview)
August 7-8, 13, 15-16, 20-22 – 7 pm
August 9, 14, 17, 23 – 2 pm
August 10, 24 – 4 pm.

Andy Massingham returns for his 4th season, with a new adapted work created for the company. Andy is the master of physical theatre and clown, and his madcap style is becoming a Theatre on the Ridge favourite. This year, Andy adapts the classic short stories and plays of Anton Chekhov for our dynamic performance tent. It’s Chekhov turned upside down and given the signature touch of inventive, physical, comedic mayhem that only Andy Massingham can deliver.

Running time approximately 2 hours, including a 15-minute intermission.
Recommended for ages 12+.

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For the final mainstage production of the summer, Andy Massingham is combining his passion for theatre and playwriting with his love for the works of another prolific writer — Anton Chekhov.

Massingham is a Dora Mavor Moore and Prix Rideau Award–winning actor, director, teacher, and playwright. If you’re a frequent Theatre on the Ridge patron, Massingham’s name might seem familiar: He has directed several of their productions, including last year’s hilarious The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Revised) (Again).

Any Idiot Can Face a Crisis is made up of six unrelated short plays based on Chekhov’s work that are interwoven with, as Massingham describes it, “an entertaining dreamscape of music and sound.” Now, you may be asking yourself, “Will I be able to enjoy this production if I’m not familiar with Anton Chekhov’s work?” The answer, happily, is a resounding yes! One of the aspects of Chekhov’s comedic work that makes it so enduring is that it is accessible; it contains universal themes like love, heartache, and social tension. Characters use honest, relatable, point-blank conversation. There are familiar scenarios where characters find themselves stuck in situations that they can’t get out of. And in these scenarios, as Massingham puts it, “nothing is happening, but everything is happening.” In fact, some of the most popular comedic shows of the past few decades follow this same formula. So even if you’ve never heard of Chekhov, you are still going to be entertained, with no homework required.

If you already happen to be a Chekhov fan, you’re in for a treat — these six short plays are reimagined Chekhov works created with a contemporary audience in mind and staged in varying time periods. The five actors in the production will each be playing several different roles during the show, and the big-top tent setting will provide for wonderfully dynamic and physical theatre.

Whether you know Chekhov well or don’t know him at all, Any Idiot Can Face a Crisis: The Comedy of Anton Chekhov, is sure to be a funny, thought-provoking, and thoroughly entertaining evening of theatre!