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Dinosaurs hit the stage at Mission's Clarke Theatre

Opening Nite Theatre Society returns with 'Jurassic Panto'

Mission’s Clarke Theatre got prehistoric last weekend with 'Jurassic Panto' from the Opening Nite Theatre Society (ONTS). 

Dinosaurs graced the stage of the Clarke on Friday (Jan. 10), Saturday (Jan. 11) and Sunday (Jan. 12) with more shows scheduled for the end of the month. 

'Jurassic Panto' is written and directed by Camille Atebe with musical direction from Jennie Bice and is described as "a ferociously fun romp through a time where science and magic mix with hilarious consequences".

The ONTS Panto is a yearly tradition and Atebe began writing ‘Jurassic Panto’ last year. 

“I kind of felt like I was running out of fairy tales – usually we do traditional fairy tales. But I've always loved dinosaurs and the movie Jurassic Park, so I thought it's kind of a fairy tale for the ages,” she said. 

Taking on a show featuring dinosaurs required some unique preparations as well. 

“We had to build a whole bunch of dinosaur costumes, which was quite fun and more of a challenge than I thought it would be but it's turned out really well,” Atebe said. 

The cast consists of 15 people and features five children, including Atebe’s daughter. 

“They all know the panto so well because they've been coming since they were babies, and for them to all have a chance to be in the show this year is pretty exciting. They all do a phenomenal job,” Atebe said. 

Allen Wiens plays Jeff Goldblum/Malcolm from the Jurassic Park franchise and Atebe praised his performance. 

“He really captures the essence of it. He's really funny,” Atebe said. 

Atebe highlighted some of her favourite scenes, including a velociraptor hatching from an egg, and an electric fence scene from the movie with their own spin. 

This year’s panto has been a challenge for ONTS due to differences in space availability and resources but Atebe says they have risen to the challenge. 

Rehearsals for the show have been in smaller spaces and there have been difficulties getting the whole cast together, Atebe says. 

However, it all came together for a rehearsal with the whole cast in the Clarke Theatre on Thursday (Jan. 9) ahead of a weekend of shows. 

“Everybody has worked really hard, learned their lines, been very flexible, and it's been a lot of fun. Everyone's brought a lot of character to their roles,” Atebe said. 

ONTS was forced to shut down its theatre on North Railway Avenue indefinitely in June after City of Mission bylaws issued a “Do Not Occupy for Theatre Use” notice.  Atebe presented as a delegation to Mission council in June as well requesting the city's assistance in keeping ONTS alive. 

“We're still looking for a place to use as a ... permanent rehearsal space. There's a lot of empty spaces downtown, but they're all wildly expensive, so we're still looking to have a couple of possible leads. But, yeah, we're still kind of in limbo at this point," she said. 

'Jurassic Panto' returns to the Clarke Theatre for three more shows on Jan. 30, 31 and Feb. 1. 

"Join Fairy Nice and Fairy Naughty as they meet the Professor, Jeff Goldblum and a trio of talking velociraptors. It's all the wild and silly fun you've come to love from The Annual ONTS Christmas Panto Extravaganza, but with dinosaurs," the ONTS website reads. 

Tickets are available for pre-purchase online at app.ticketowl.io or by e-mailing ontstickets@hotmail.com.  Tickets will also be available at the door.
 



Dillon White

About the Author: Dillon White

I joined the Mission Record in November of 2022 after moving to B.C. from Nova Scotia earlier in the year.
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