Emokhare Paul Anthony
Daily Herald
Prince Albert audiences will have a chance to watch the latest Smokescreen Productions performance when it hits the Mahon Auditorium stage from April 11-12.
‘Dead Men Don’t Eat Quiche’ is the company’s take on the film noir genre, but with a little twist. The one act play was written by David Pemberton and is being directed by David Mulgrew.
Mulgrew described the play as a “1940s film noir parody” that features a script writer, a femme fatale, and a detective all involved in a movie.
“The play is kind of being written as it happens, and a lot of the film is actually being improvised,” Mulgrew explained. “There’s some very, very funny parts, lots of sound cues, lots of music, (and) lots of lighting changes, so it’s been quite a challenge for a one act play.
“It runs about 30 minutes and we just found out we have about 20 sound cues. We probably have 20 lighting cues, also so it’s very technical.”
Mulgrew said he isn’t a big fan of many of the old film noirs, mostly due to the acting. However, he liked other aspects of 1940s movies, like the lighting, and hopes to bring them to the stage.
He’s also a big fan of the ‘Dead Men Don’t Eat Quiche’ script.
“We read the play and it was very unique—nothing like I’d ever read before,” Mulgrew said. “A couple of members of our Smokescreen club read it and decided this is a show we wanted to do.”
One of the earliest decisions Mulgrew made as director was to bring Maureen Pepper and Ryan Hughes on board as femme fatale Lily and misunderstood detective Palmer respectively.
Both performers said they were excited to be involved with the production.
“When I first read the play I thought it was very unique because it was actually a film being done on stage,” Pepper said. “I thought that was really neat, and then I thought the characters were fun and I loved the idea of it being film noir.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Smokescreen Productions before, but I’ve mainly worked with Maureen as a director and then Dave as an actor,” Hughes added. “I’ve had Dave as a director as well and it’s always been a great experience. When they asked me if I would take part I jumped at it. There wasn’t much thought. It was something I wanted to do.”
Pepper hasn’t watched a lot of film noir, but did a deep dive to better understand the genre after she got the part. She liked the setting and costumes of the film. Hughes said his parents were big fans of detective shows like Columbo, so although he wasn’t a huge fan, he’s familiar with many conventions.
Ideally, they hope audiences will enjoy Smokescreen’s take on the genre.
“I think they’re going to laugh. I think they’re going to listen hard. I think they’re going to come away feeling like they saw a good show,” Mulgrew said.
Smokescreen will perform the show twice in Prince Albert before taking it to the Theatre Saskatchewan provincial drama festival in Melfort. Both are excited to take the show on the road.
“It’s fun to perform,” Hughes said. “Here in PA it’s going to be friends, family, and it’s going to be people who enjoy theatre. The fun part is doing it before festival. You get to iron out kinks, you get to perform, have a little bit of fun, and then take it to festival where there’s people who have maybe never seen you. They don’t know who you are, and it’s exciting.”
‘Dead Men Don’t Eat Quiche’ will be on the Mahon Auditorium Stage from April 11-12. Doors open at 7 p.m., with the show starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and available at the door, or by calling 306-960-9501 or 306-960-5899.
–with files from Jason Kerr/Daily Herald
