Persephone Theatre was created in 1974 as a non-profit organization dedicated to producing professional live theatre productions. In its early years, Persephone mounted productions both at the Mendel and the University’s Greystone Theatre.
In 1983, Persephone bought and renovated the Westgate Alliance Church into its own theatre. It was tucked into an unassuming residential area on the west side of the city. The theatre was large but seats were very narrow and felt cramped. The seats rose in stadium seating style in a very pronounced rise. One of my favourite shows I saw was Misery, a theatrical re-telling of the Stephen King novel and movie. The set was amazing in how it spun, allowing a fully fleshed-out house to appear from a bedroom, to a hallway to a kitchen.
In 2007, Persephone Theatre moved to River Landing, on the banks of the South Saskatchewan. It is the first major building on the site and the audiences have been flocking to see the shows, selling out nearly every performance since. The new building has a lobby/bar area on both the upper and lower levels. Gallery space displays local artists on the upper level. The main theatre is tall, boasting 421 seats including a balcony area. As well, a second ‘black box’ stage is also available, allowing smaller productions or ‘edgier’ works to be performed.
The Mendel recently announced that it would be moving to the River Landing area and that the new building would be wrapped around Persephone, creating an artistic synergy between the two.
A recent performance I attended at Persephone was Little Shop of Horrors, a musical parody of 50’s science fiction/monster movies. The acting and set design was top notch. Persephone is the destination spot for theatre lovers in Saskatoon.
Persephone Theatre
River Landing
100 Spadina Crescent East
306 384-2126
A group of investors named Ice Edge Holdings have signed a letter of intent to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes team from the NHL. Part of their business plan include a proposal to have a series of 5 games in Saskatoon with the Phoenix Coyotes as the ‘home team’, possibly as soon as next season.
Saskatoon is not large enough to support an NHL team on its own, but with the ticket sales that have been racked up for the World Junior Championships it’s a no-brainer that the city could easily support some high priced tickets on a limited engagement. It also doesn’t hurt that about 80% of kids growing up in Saskatchewan have played hockey at some point in their youth.
Stay tuned hockey fans and let us see how this turns out.
The Enchanted Forest has become a holiday tradition for many in Saskatoon. Every year from late November until early January, the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority hosts the Christmas light display out at the Forestry Farm park.
Stretching throughout 2.5 km, dozens of displays with tens of thousands of LEDs light up the night sky. Every year it seems as though one or two new displays are added while familiar favourites return. Some displays are animated such as penguins doing a ski jump and a huge Christmas tree with ringing bells. Oddly enough, some of my favourite of the lights are the huge fir trees lit up with tons of lights, glistening in the snow. When I lived in Silverspring next to the park, I could see these trees as I drove home every night. You can’t help but feel the Christmas spirit when you look at a scene like that.
Profits from the Enchanted Forest are shared between the Saskatoon City Hospital Foundation and the Saskatoon Zoo. So come out to get in the Christmas spirit as well as support a couple of worthy causes.
The Enchanted Forest
Forestry Farm Park
I’m not the biggest fan of country music, but a new video released by Tourism Saskatoon does do a great job of showing off some of the best things about Saskatoon. Sure, it maybe downplays the amount of snow and cold we get, but it does highlight some of my favourite things about Saskatoon that I’ve written about on Saskatoonlive. My friend Jamie has made me watch way too many Winnipeg promotional videos so I think it’s time to turn the tables and show that… It’s a Beautiful World.
