Big in Munich: the European Premiere of A Beautiful View

We at Volcano have hit the ground running in 2014 - or hit the air flying, as the case may be...Ross is off to the UAE at the end of the week for the Fujairah International Monodrama Festival!

Soon, we'll be deep in rehearsals for A Beautiful View, Daniel MacIvor's phenomenal play about love and friendship, starring Becky Johnson and Amy Rutherford. First produced in 2005, our upcoming production was originally mounted in Munich for BeMe Theatre - an English-language theatre company headed up by Canadian Elisa Moolecherry.

"I first met Daniel at the Stephenville Drama Festival in Newfoundland where we became friends, and where we both got our start. Nearly 30 years later, in 2012, I was honoured to bring one of his finest plays to Europe."

Ross Manson 

In 2012, BeMe invited Ross to direct a new production of A Beautiful View. The show was cast and rehearsed in Canada, then staged and designed in Germany for its European Premiere. The new production used physical and improvised performance, and Volcano's signature experimental style, to craft an imaginative take on MacIvor's celebrated script.

Becky, Ross, Amy and Krister in rehearsal for
A Beautiful View (Munich 2012)

Working internationally introduces us to some incredible people: BeMe connected Volcano with Munich-based composer Krister Schuchardt, who wrote a new score for the play. You can check out a few samples of Krister's recent work on his website here - including the score for BeMe's production of Cherry Docs, featuring Canadians Jamie Maczko and Michael Rubenfeld.

The BeMe / Volcano production of A Beautiful View was a critical success, playing to near sold-out houses. We're proud to bring the show back home to Canada.

"Becky Johnson and Amy Rutherford deliver a brilliant performance...A Beautiful View is a reminder to just let go, 
and a beautiful thing can happen..."

The Munich Eye

"...under the surface is revealed a search for deeper meaning. Playwright Daniel MacIvor and director Ross Manson succeed [thanks] above all to their wonderful actors..."

Suddeutsche Zeitung

A Beautiful View runs Feb 27 - Mar 9 in Toronto, then tours to Kingston, Burlington, Milton, St. Catharines, and North Bay throughout the month of March. You can find out more about the production - and how to score cheap tickets! - on our website here.

Watch the production trailer for a first listen to the original music composed for A Beautiful View by Krister Schuchardt: