Helter Smelter tickets coming down fast

BY HOLLIE WATSON

Hudson Village Theatre is embarking on its 15th anniversary season with a stellar line-up that kicks off Nov. 1 with the acclaimed production of Lucien 4: Helter Smelter.

The play just wrapped up an extended, sold-out run at Upper Canada Playhouse in Morrisburg, Ont. The one-man show, which features and stars playwright Marshall Button, is the fourth in a series which has captured the imaginations of critics and audiences alike.

In this instalment, the irrepressible Lucien pays a rare visit to his home town, where he finds himself fishing in a colony of shanties on the Bay of Chaleur.

“The main theme of the play is global warming,” explained Button from his home in Moncton.

“It’s based on a real life event that happened a few years ago, when an ice floe broke away and a group of fishers were marooned,” said Button, who was artistic director at Morrisburg for 10 years.

As in the first three plays, the comic elements go hand-in-hand with bigger issues to which theatre-goers will readily relate. In his tirades, Lucien has targeted everything from technology to the Catholic Church to Canada’s role in Iraq.

Lucien is a composite character drawn from people Button has known over the years.

After the five performances in Hudson, the play will tour Button’s home province. It is the final instalment in the Lucien series, he said, adding one of his other projects is a part in an upcoming movie being filmed in New Brunswick.

Hudson Village Theatre has other promising shows in store for their 2007-2008 fall/winter season, including an evening with National Film Board director and animator Grant Munro on Dec. 3. Following that is a performance by the People’s Gospel Choir of Montreal Dec. 9. On the concert’s heels is HVT’s traditional British pantomime; The Emperor’s New Clothes runs from Dec. 14 to Jan. 6.

Tickets for Lucien 4: Helter Smelter are selling briskly, according to publicity director Carolyn Flower, and people are advised to make reservations online at www.villagetheatre.ca, or by calling 450-458-5361. Performance dates are Nov. 1 and 2 at 8 p.m., Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Nov. 4 at 2.

Hudson Village Theatre is located at 28 Wharf Rd.