Photo by Chris Walzak

February 9th, 2017. Sydney, NS. Due to popular demand, the Highland Arts Theatre has added an extra performance to the second production of its 2017 season: Criminals in Love.

Criminals in Love is a Canadian comedy-drama about a family of incompetent criminals and what happens when the youngest of their crime empire chooses love over his apparent “jail bird” destiny. Along the way he meets a philosophical poet/bum, a would-be-teenage prostitute, and a one-woman-revolutionary in the form of his Aunt Wineva.

“It’s a hilarious, often ridiculous look at an all too real problem.” said Artistic Director, Wesley J. Colford. “People feel they don’t have “legitimate” options and so they turn to crime. It’s an economic issue as much as social. We’ve tried to frame it in terms people will recognize.”

While the play was originally written and performed in Toronto in 1985, it has since been performed throughout North America and remains a Canadian classic within the theatre world. Hilary Scott, who directed this Cape Breton debut, chose to set it in contemporary Sydney.

“It’s a universal story, and one that I think feels very real anywhere – especially post-industrial cities. The characters are extreme but the heart is all Caper.”

The local cast includes Jenna Lahey (Herstory, First Time Last Time), Phonse Walsh (A Christmas Carol, Halo), George MacKenzie (A Christmas Carol, The Wakowski Brothers), Mary-Jean Doyle (Alice in Wonderland, Black Jack), and Nicole Drohan (A Christmas Carol).

A special guest of the production is Sean Sullivan, who makes his Cape Breton debut as the equally whimsical and waylaid street person, William. Sullivan is originally from the States, but is currently based in Toronto, where he met and worked with Colford several years ago. “Sean has had a long and varied acting career and it’s so exciting to have him here at the HAT.” Along with decades of stage acting, Sullivan’s credits include roles in the cult films “Wayne’s World” and “Back to the Future III”.

The extended production, which opened Monday, now runs every night until February 11th at 8:00 PM at the Highland Arts Theatre (40 Bentinck St.).

Tickets are $25 ($15 for students and youth 23 & under) and can be purchased at the HAT Box Office (open 11:00 – 4:00, Monday-Friday), over the phone at (902) 565-3637, or by visiting the Highland Arts Theatre website: www.highlandartstheatre.com.