Les Belles Soeurs at Douglas College Studio Theatre show set to play this November Nicole Burton, News Editor an A// in the Family feel about it. “There are a lot of similarities,” says Wright. “They’re both set in about the same time, _ they were both contro- versial in that time, and they both dealt with sub- jects which had been up to then taboo—like sex, religion, and poverty.” Poverty is at the core of Les Belles Soeurs, Canadian writer Michel Tremblay’s groundbreaking play first staged in 1968. It’s set in the kitchen of Germaine Lauzon, who has won 1 million trading tamps she can exchange for merchandise. It’s a windfall for the poor woman and all she has to do is paste them into books to claim her prizes. Lauzon summons her friends and neighbors to help with the task, but makes it clear she will not be sharing her good fortune with them. “If she shared it with her friends, they might have supported her, but they don’t because she’s greedy. So everything turns ugly and turns into a big fight,” says Wright. “They take riches and turn them into poverty.” _ The:cast of this Douglas College production con: _ — Iraq Constitution Referendum Update Voting coupled with high irregularities, delaying resufts into next wook Nicole Burton, News Editor At first glance, a kitchen in 1960s Montreal full of working-class women pasting trading stamps into books doesn’t appear to have much in common with Archie Bunker’s New York living room. But when director Johnna Wright put her stamp on Les Belles Soeurs, she found the hard-edged comedy had “e = Results from the US-backed Iraqi constitution are producing high levels of irregularities across the country after ballots went under review early last week. Iraq’s election commission announced on Monday, i October 17, that it would audit votes— in order to investigate * ad * all * the “unusually high” numbers of “yes” votes-in some cases as high at 99 percent in favor of the constitution in several Iraqi provinces. The inquiry into irregularities began stemming from a number of questionable statistics, first showing an overall sists of 14 actors—all women. Even the crew is over- whelmingly female. Wright says the young cast is enjoying the challenge the play presents. “T think they’re really enjoying it. They’re exploring what it’s like to live in a working-class neighbourhood in Montreal in the 1960s. It’s very important to find the comedy and what’s likable about the people, because they are hard women.” And like A// in the Family, where Archie Bunker shocked a generation of TV viewers with his bigoted views, Les Belles Soeurs has its share of outrageous opinions. “Tt’s hard-edged comedy. A lot of it is a bit dark. You don’t agree with some of the opinions, but you can’t help but laugh because of the way they’re expressed. Even then, you laugh because you recog- nize yourself,’ Wright says. The Stagecraft students are also learning about the period, working hard to create a “1960s kitchen that looks like it was built in the 1940s.” A Burnaby resident, Wright has her own produc- tion company, Solo Collective, which develops new plays. Last spring, she directed Fear Some, a series of three monologues and is working on another produc- tion, Landscapes of the Dead. She’s currently an artist-in- residence at the Vancouver Playhouse. Presented by the Douglas College Theatre and Stagecraft Departments, Les Belles Soeurs runs from November 4-12 in the Studio Theatre. For ticket infor- mation and times, please call 604.527.5488. nation-wide support of the constitution by as high as 98 per- cent, followed by re-counts reflecting overall disapproval of the constitution in votes as high at 56 percent. Complications will carry official results of the referendum on into next week. Beginning in early October, Iraqi police, alongside US and UK occupation forces, began their preparations for the nation- al referendum by shutting down major cities and towns, setting up check-points and roadblocks, and increasing restrictions on freedom of movement and curfews upon the Iraqi people. Ontario Shifting Out of Step of Other Provinces Province to follow US move to extend daylight time starting in 2007 Nicole Burton, News Editor Ontario will become the first province in Canada to follow the US. decision extending daylight savings time. Starting in 2007, daylight time will start on the second Sunday of March and will end on the first Sunday in November. Daylight savings time currently runs from the beginning of April to the end of October. Ontario’s time-shift comes after US President George W. Bush signed an energy bill in August that extended daylight time by four weeks starting in 2007.