Village Theatre is a non-profit organization with charitable status. It operates year-round as a professional theatre company and hosts various cultural events. Its revenue comes from ticket sales, fund-raising events, donations and sponsorships.

            This year Village Theatre has scheduled a wide variety of productions in the winter and early spring. The theatre is partnering with local amateur groups more often and is offering its facilities for more events. The Josh Oskrdal Children's Series is back for a third season and local theatre groups join Montreal comic Guido Cocomello to fill out the program.

            A one-hour drama workshop run by John and Kathy of the Rag and Bone Puppet Theatre group gives kids the opportunity to experiment with voice and movement. They act out nursery rhymes and learn how to interact with each other and the audience by means of theatre games. Cost is $15 per person.

            The Rag and Bone Puppet Theatre writes and produces innovative theatre aimed at families and young people. They emphasize pleasing esthetics, high artistic quality and new approaches to teach empathy and encourage imagination.

            “The Light Princess” takes common fairy tale characters and adds twists that involve them in new plots. A princess, a witch and a prince feature in a story about making good choices and about compassion

            This sold out show features actor Guido Cocomello, last seen in Hudson in last summer’s hit “Wife Begins at Forty.” Guido performs his stand-up comedy routine dealing with his life to date. His stories are funny and relevant as he desribes his single life, his marriage and becoming a father. He has performed his fast-paced show in Montreal, across Canada and In Italy.

            The Hudson Film Society has partnered with Village Theatre to present this event as a fund raiser for Le Nichoir. The “War Horse” video is a recording of a Bristish National Theatre production based on the book by Michael Morpurgo. The Film Society calls this a Performance Screening, differentiating it from movies because it is recorded live in a continuous fashion to make it analogous to a live theatre performance.

            “War Horse” tells the story of a horse from Devon sold to the British cavalry in World War I and shipped to the front in France. It is told on the National Theatre stage with music and songs along with life-size horse puppets created by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company. They bring the horses to life, galloping and charging on the stage.

            In this bililngual show, Mimi the Diva and her Maestro Figaro are expected for their concert at the opera but Mimi doesn't feel well at all! She is suffering from indigestion from too much fast food. What should she do? Mimi and Figaro ask the audience to help them find the magic recipe to get the Diva back into singing shape. While naming wholesome ingredients, the children participate in a mini-opera, “The Magic Food” by Wolfyummy Amadelicious Mozarella. A bunch of greens, a dash of Verdi, a plate of fish à la Bellini, a bowl of fruit, a glass of milk, and to keep strong our beating heart, we dance to Bizet and Mozart.

            In collaboration with the Hudson Chamber Music Series, with TOM ALLEN. Host of Shift on CBC RADIO 2 Bohemians in Brooklyn is a mix of storytelling, chamber music and original popular song. The chamber music is by Britten, (songs from Les Illuminations, a harp interlude) Bernstein (a song and a small piano piece), Colin McPhee (Balinese Ceremonial Music) as well as a waltz by Paul Bowles. The popular songs are written by Bryce Kulak and Tom Allen.

            What happens when a poet, an author, a composer, his lover, and a book-loving stripper all move into the same house in quiet, wartime Brooklyn? Arguments, indulgence, infestation, questionable relationships of every description, a murder mystery, plenty of reasons for the neighbours to bang on the walls and, just possibly, some truly wonderful art. Join singers Patricia O’Callaghan and Bryce Kulak, harpist Lori Gemmell and storyteller Tom Allen for an evening in the house that once held WH Auden, Benjamin Britten, Carson McCullers and Gypsy Rose Lee.

            See the section on the Hudson Music Club performance of “ABBA” in this issue for more details on cast and show.

            Featuring over twenty beautifully hand-crafted marionettes, The Fairy Circus is a showcase of turn-of-the-century-style trick puppetry. A solo puppeteer makes the puppets dance, play instruments, juggle, contort, transform, and fly through the air with the greatest of ease, all to the best-loved music of favorite composers. This show is perfect for young children and family audiences. The presentation includes a lively puppetry demonstration prior to the show, and a Q&A session afterwards.

            A terrible drought has overtaken the land, and the world has turned brown and lifeless. The Dragon King is ruler over all things water, and the people are beginning to wonder why he has not brought the life-giving rains in such a very long time. An underwater fantasy based on Chinese folklore, The Dragon King tells the tale of an intrepid Grandmother who journeys to the bottom of the sea in search of the elusive Dragon King, and the answers to why he has forsaken the land above. Colorful sea creatures, an exciting adventure, and a Dragon King to top all dragons! All this and more in this award-winning production