In the News: 'Suite Surrender' announced as first production of new local theatre company (Fort McMurray Today)

By Laura Beamish Publishing date: Nov 04, 2021

Swamp Rat Experience, a new theatre company in Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo, has announced its first production with Keyano Theatre will be Michael McKeever’s Suite Surrender.

Hanna Fridhed-Campbell, co-founder and director, said in a Thursday interview getting the production going “feels amazing.”

“This is such a fun piece. I think everyone involved is going to have a great time working on this,” she said. “It’s a show that have been in love with for a couple years now. I think it’s going to go over really well here.”

Suite Surrender is set in 1942. Two feuding Hollywood divas arrive at the Palm Beach Royale Hotel to perform a USO show and end up being assigned to the same suite.

Fridhed-Campbell said Suite Surrender has elements of a classic farce, including quick entrances and exits, mistaken identities, as well as a lot of quick wit and humour. But the production, originally published in 2011, discards stereotypes used in a lot of older farces, such as racism and homophobia.

Fridhed-Campbell and co-founder Zenon Campbell started talking in the summer about creating a theatre company.

“We have the theatre companies that focus a lot on marginalization or development for artists or larger scale productions. We’re really looking to be that complement,” said Fridhed-Campbell. “More of a feel-good theatre company that focus a lot of our energy on the joy of creating and bringing that joy to both artists involved with us and the audience. Theatre can be just fun, and that’s okay.”

Production sponsors include FMM Law, Coldwell Banker Fort McMurray, local restoration company Paul Davis and Stage Sponsor Canadian Tire.

“We’re very excited to get this going and so far we’ve seen great support,” she said. “People are ready for this, people are ready to laugh again.”

Suite Surrender will be playing at the Keyano Recital Theatre between March 10 and 12. Auditions for the production will be held in January.