The Shelter
By Mike Seccombe		Dark Horse Theatre - Winnipeg, MB
V.7 - School of Contemporary Dancers 
Joyce is a young woman desperate to catch her bus after her first (and last) day at her new downtown job. She has an unexpected meeting with Paul, a homeless man living in the bus shelter. The encounter between them, and other eccentric passers-by, have life-altering implications for them both.

This stark drama is from the creators of past Fringe hits "The Social" (4 1/2 STARS), and "The Beginner's Guide To Suicide". A portion of the ticket sales will be donated to The Main Street Project.

Cast:
Caroline Schaab, Dave Pruden, Devon Litlejohn, Daniel Kinley, Laurie Monk, Eric Lielke, Reena Wavey, Karl Eckstrand, Mike Seccombe

Director:
Directors: Mike Seccombe & Karl Eckstrand

 		Show Info:
45 Mins minutes
Genre:
Play-Drama

Audience:
Parental Guidance

Coarse Language, Gunshots, Suggested drug and alchohol use

Wed July 15 6:00 PM
Fri July 17 4:15 PM
Mon July 20 11:00 AM
Wed July 22 11:00 AM
Thu July 23 9:45 PM
Sat July 25 7:45 PM
Sun July 26 4:45 PM

The Shelter

Dark Horse Theatre—School of Contemporary Dancers

Dark Horse and the Fringe are essentially synonymous at this point. Traditionally humorous scripts are what we are used to from them and this is definitely a full turn. Yes there are some laughs but this “dark” tale needs to be told. Stand out performances by the entire cast but especially Dave Pruden and Caroline Schaab as the leads. Dave’s tale is heart wrenching and drives a point that needs to be discussed in this world today. There is so much heart in this script, and keeping this spoiler free you just need to SEE THE SHOW. I was at the jam packed 11am show, so get your tickets early because every single one going forward is going to be like this.

Joel Passante

The Shelter

Dark Horse Theatre—School of Contemporary Dancers

Everyone has a story, as The Shelter takes pains to reiterate. Sometimes those stories are a bit two dimensional and idealistic, but even so, the message of empathy towards the unhoused and the direct financial support the company is helping provide by putting on this production helps make up for that.

The primary focus is the conversation between Joyce, lost downtown after a horrible first and last day at a new job, and Paul, a self described student of human nature residing in the bus shelter Joyce is waiting in. Around them are a cast of characters with not a lot of screen time or defining characteristic outside of “asshole”, “addict” or “grump”, but they don’t steal too much of the focus away from that core duo. While Paul himself might be a bit too squeaky clean and pure hearted despite his rough appearance and conditions, his performance definitely makes the show.

If the idea of seeing a show also representing an automatic donation to Main Street Project sounds appealing, this is definitely a great one to check out

Josh Fidelak