Looking Glass Production’s has an upcoming production called Dietrich & Maria. 

Scot Moir with Looking Glass Productions is the writer and director of the upcoming production. 

He says Dietrich & Maria is based on the real story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and his fiancé Maria von Wedemeyer. 

Bonhoeffer was a famous German theologian involved in the resistance against Hitler, and ended up in in prison for it, and he was engaged right around the time just before he ended up in prison. 

“And so we're looking at the story of, what it means to have a relationship in the midst of Hitler's Germany, when one of one of the members is in a prison cell for his involvement in conspiracy against the Nazis.” 

Scot Moir says he came across the story about nine years ago, and has been trying to write it ever since. 

“And then finally a few little things clicked into place, mainly two things being Marc and Laura, and it's really wonderful.” 

Marc Moir and Laura Kathleen Turner are cast as Dietrich and Maria respectively, and the two have been acting opposite each other for the last 15 years. 

The play has just the two actors, and Turner says even though it is a lot of pressure making up half the cast, she’s really looking forward to it. 

“It's a little daunting to know that you're going to be on stage for an entire play and there's not going to be a chance to leave or rest or get water. But really, it's just fun. Scot's done such a great job of writing with Marc and I in mind, and so we really are able to play to our natural strengths in this show.” 

She says the audience can expect to feel special to be a part of this moment in time between these two characters. 

“When you have a big full cast, you can really create a whole other world, but when you have just two people on stage, you can really create a real human moment,” she says. “For audiences, it's almost like they get to peek through the windows and listen in on the most intimate conversations that these two people have ever had.” 

Marc Moir says Scot Moir has done a fantastic job in his role. 

“He's a phenomenal writer. Insightful, beautiful script. And as a director, he's just been top notch, one of the best I've ever worked with. It's just it's been a real treat.” 

Scot says one difficult thing about this play in particular is writing about real people and deciding what parts of their lives to portray in the play. 

“What do you put in and what do you leave out? Eventually things got a lot clearer when it just became a story of two people in love. You can find a lot of really special moments when it's a small group of people working together on a really intimate piece.” 

For those who don’t know, Looking Glass Productions is a recently established professional theatre company based in Steinbach. 

They kicked off with their first preview show last May called See No Evil, and are now doing their second preview show, Dietrich & Maria.  

In October, they're kicking off their first full season of professional live theater right here in Steinbach. 

Marc Moir explains what a full season means. 

“A full slate of plays. We've got three plays lined up for this first season, and then based on how that goes, we're looking to add on to that, just like other theaters do, maybe even going as high as five at some point.” 

He says the three shows they have planned are fantastic, and is excited to reveal what some of the plays will be in the coming weeks. 

They won’t just be performing in Steinbach, but will be touring around Southern Manitoba in Winkler, Kenora, and Brandon.  

He says that their long-term goal is to have a fully functional professional theatre in Steinbach. 

“We're obviously based in Steinbach, we're going to run longest in Steinbach. We want to make sure people in our community have the chance to see what we're about and see the great shows we're going to be bringing them.” 

You can see Dietrich & Maria at the Mennonite Heritage Village February 21-24, Wednesday-Saturday at 7pm. 

You can either buy tickets at the door or by visiting lookingglasstheatre.ca. Tickets are $30 each.

 

With files from Kenton Dyck

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