DION: A ROCK OPERA // FEBRUARY 4 - MARCH 3, 2024
THE COAL MINE THEATRE PRESENTS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF:
DION: A ROCK OPERA
By Ted Dykstra and Steven Mayoff
Directed by Peter Hinton-Davis
Musical Director: Bob Foster
Associate Director: Kiera Sangster
Dion: A Rock Opera is a fully sung rock opera based on Euripedes' The Bacchae. Book by Prince Edward Island's poet/novelist Steven Mayoff, music by The Coal Mine's co-founder, Ted Dykstra. Four years in the making, The Coal Mine has developed the show from scratch, with two full cast two-week workshops over that time.
Pentheus, the conservative right wing leader of a city-state "somewhere in time" on this earth, arrives home from a trip to learn that all the disenfranchised people in his kingdom have taken to the hills, following a non-binary and self-proclaimed Demi-God named Dion. The runaways from society, rumour has it, are drinking a strange brew, and are often seen running through the hills naked in states of ecstasy. The runaways include almost all of society’s women, including his own mother Agave and his uncle Cadmus.
Pentheus has heard of this Dion. They are his cousin. They claim Zeus as a father, and Pentheus' aunt Semele as a mother. Pentheus has made it clear the story is a lie. Semele made it up to excuse her wontoness. Dion is just a human, says Pentheus. Dion wants revenge for this slandering of his mother. That is why they are back. That is why they allow themselves to be captured and brought to Pentheus in chains.
What ensues is this leader being seduced into dressing up as a woman and going to the hills to see for himself, where he meets his end...
Canadian Theatre titan Peter Hinton-Davis and Associate Director Kiera Sangster will helm this world premiere in the intimate environment that has made the Coal Mine one of our country's most lauded small theatres. Bob Foster, (Come From Away) the most sought after musical director in the country, will serve as MD with Associate Musical Director Haneul Li.
Sacred and profane, Dion: A Rock Opera promises to be one of the biggest events of the Toronto Theatre season…
A Note From The Director:
“DION is a wild and provocative musical about the limits of reason and the potential for disorder and revenge that lies inside the cry for freedom,” adds Peter Hinton-Davis “This is a world that begs for the glamour and grist of rock and roll: the sense of divine power and human aspiration, crowds of followers and fans, groupies and grifters, prophets and politicians. I am reminded of how powerful the role music plays in moments of social upheaval, revolution and change. There are shades of THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW or PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE here, as much as THE BACCHAE or HAMLET. But rather than homage or nostalgia – it’s a new-born re-invention of the rock opera for today.”
