A New Westminster actor is stepping into the spotlight as one of the fictional world’s best-known antagonists.
Katherine Morris is featured as Nurse Ratched in the Stage 43 Theatrical Society production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The show, part of the theatre company’s As Seen on Screen season, runs at the Evergreen Cultural Centre from May 2 to 11.
The play is adapted by Dale Wasserman from the famous novel by Ken Kesey. It tells the story of Randle Patrick McMurphy, a convicted criminal who has been sentenced to a fairly short prison term. He decides to have himself declared insane so he’ll be transferred to a mental institution, where he expects to spend the rest of his term in comparative comfort and luxury.
Instead, he finds himself ensnared in a power battle with the tyrannical Nurse Ratched, vying for the hearts and minds of the patients. And the questions arise: Just how sane are the patients in the ward, and do any of them really belong there?
Two other New West residents also appear in the cast: John Cousins as Dale Harding and Caitlin Stanley as Candy.
Stage 43 is partnering with the Kwikwetlem First Nation (www.kwikwetlem.com) on the production. Partial proceeds from each ticket sold will be donated to their upcoming Health and Wellness Centre being built in Port Coquitlam.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is onstage Thursday, May 2 through Saturday, May 4 at 8 p.m.; Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m.; and Wednesday, May 8 through Saturday, May 11 at 8 p.m. Tickets are available through www.stage43.org/tickets. (Special two-for-one pricing is available on Wednesday, May 8, using the discount code CUCKOO.)
Evergreen Cultural Centre is at 1205 Pinetree Way, Coquitlam (next to the Lafarge Lake-Douglas SkyTrain station).
See www.stage43.org for all the details.
