(Kanata Theatre introduces its 58th season with the stage production of Rough Crossing opening on September 9th. Playwright Tom Stoppard has created a play that is both entertaining and thoughtful.)
But what if that cruise becomes a tribulation rather than a vacation? Travelling on a luxury liner across the Atlantic with a deadline looming, pressure building, and trapped by fellow passengers who make you wish you could swim the distance? Such is the predicament created by Academy Award winning playwright Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”) in his farcical comedy “Rough Crossing”, introducing Kanata Theatre’s first production of it’s 2026-27 season.
It is the 1930s and here we have two playwrights, Sandor Turai and Alex Gal racing against the clock as their ocean liner journeys towards New York, to complete the script for their new musical “The Cruise of the Dodo” and to rehearse and ready the show for opening night. Unfortunately their distraught French composer Adam Adam – a former actor forced to end his stage career after contracting a strange speech impediment, brought on by the return of his terrifying mother from prison – overhears his fiancé, (and the leading lady), East European Actress Natasha Navratilova, making whoopee with the intellectually-challenged leading man, English actor Ivor Fish.
To calm his fears, Turai claims they were simply in rehearsal and trying out a new ending. The characters are then constantly writing, rehearsing, acting, and pretending, making it difficult for them to separate what is genuine from what is part of a performance.
“Rough Crossing” is a lively comedy that celebrates the absurdity of theatre. Through its unusual setting, memorable characters, and clever dialogue, Tom Stoppard creates a play that is both entertaining and thoughtful. The mixture of romance, deception, creativity, and theatrical confusion makes this play an engaging example of modern British comedy and a reminder that sometimes the greatest stories are created when everything goes wrong.
Kanata Theatre veteran James Holmes, a member since 1972, calls Tom Stoppard “in my view the most interesting playwright of our time”. “Rough Crossing” will be the 6th play or adaptation by Stoppard done in Kanata Theatre’s fifty-eight -year history.
The “real” cast of “Rough Crossing” consists of:
- Dvornichek – Shawn Anctil
- Natasha Navratalova – Sarah Hegger
- Sandor Turai – Dave McIntyre
- Adam Adam – Kane O’Donnell
- Ivor Fish – Chisolm Pothier
- Alex Gal – Favour Shittu
Performances at Kanata Theatre’s home, the Ron Maslin Playhouse, take place for evening performances at 7:30pm from September 9-12 and September 15-19. On September 13, there is a 2:30pm matinée. The performance has adult content. Tickets can be purchased at this link or at the box office during open hours for this performance or the entire 2026-27 season.
When you present your Kanata Theatre show ticket at Buster’s Bar & Grill on Hazeldean Road, they offer a 20% discount to patrons. Head over to Buster’s Bar before or after seeing “Rough Crossing” for dinner or an after-show snack!
“Rough Crossing” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com.
