Ottawa’s KingDOM Theatre to perform PRISMA in Stratford

Ottawa-based KingDOM Theatre will bring a story of hope in trying times to Stratford on May 14 with their production of Prisma at the James C. Reaney Auditorium.

Ottawa’s KingDOM Theatre will return to Stratford for the first time in a decade to enlighten audiences and spark hope in their PRISMA production.

KingDOM Theatre will present PRISMA at the James C. Reaney Auditorium at the Stratford Intermediate School on May 14, starting at 7 p.m.

PRISMA is a one-act, non-verbal production based on the acclaimed children’s book The Gray City by German author and illustrator Torben Kuhlmann. The story is about a girl named Robin who learned a city lost all of its colour. Robin then goes on a journey to restore vibrant colours back to the city.

Director Ekaterina Vetrov said that students who watched the play so far said that the play is about hope and finding a shining light in gray and dull times.

"Even in the most gray place that you find yourself at some point, the Gray City, gray people, everything becomes dull. Everything sometimes feels like you have no friends, no people who support you and you're part of the system. Just you're so small that you cannot recognize yourself anymore, you can still look through the prism and see the light in a different sense, different way and discover colours of your own city, discover what's special about it, find people that you really feel connected to and also create art that will help you to move forward,” she said.

The play will be presented by a group of advanced students who are training to perform professionally around the world. The students collaborate with professional artists, including Vetrov as director, choreographer and technical director. Elements of PRISMA are all student-created.

"Everything is handmade and it's very important that this message that’s told on the stage is from the hearts of youth who see the world this way and I think it's important for both children and adults,” Vetrov said.

"Because it's non-verbal. it places a huge need for creativity from the students and as a former theatre teacher and director, this is a magical kind of thing that happens with kids,” said Ron Dodson, director of the world festival of children’s theatre. “When you ask them, when you challenge them as Ekaterina has to find the essence of a piece and express it without words, because they're so used to words. We're all used to words. It becomes really, really special." 

KingDOM Theatre was last in Stratford in 2016 for the 14th World Festival of Children’s Theatre, which brought in 200 children from all over the world. KingDOM’s production of The Legend of Parvana Lake was well-received.

"KingDOM Theatre was one of the groups, because they had something special, using shadow theatre and puppetry and non-verbal choreographed expression, it was important that they perform and they did a fabulous job. They were one of the real hits of the festival,” Dodson said.

Prior to the evening PRISMA performance, KingDOM Theatre will have a performance and follow-up discussion with Stratford Intermediate School students who are studying The Gray City. KingDOM Theatre will also run shadow theatre workshops with the students.

"We feel it’s very special when it's children connecting with children and they're going have this honest communication with discussing things that they believe in without much intervention – just supportive adults instead of us just telling them what to tell everyone and what to discuss,” Vetrov said.

PRISMA is recommended for audiences who are six years old and older. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for children and students. To purchase tickets online, visit https://www.kingdomtheatre.ca/event-details/prisma-stratford.