trinity western | advent plays offer something fresh & meaningful for christmas

As Christmas approaches, some adults wonder if that age-old story has any surprises left.

Lloyd Arnett, a playwright, director, and TWU professor, says yes. Forget your visions of shepherds in bathrobes or department store elves throwing tantrums…Arnett and his actors bring the Lower Mainland a show about real life. They are going back to basics with this theatrical exploration of what the Christmas story means to people today. Running November 24-28 at Trinity Western University.

Arnett’s original script, Trinity Advent Plays, is a series of three short dramas performed by six actors who each tackle multiple roles. This triple-bill plays at Trinity Western University for one week only, November 24 – 28, and tours to Lower Mainland churches over the following month.  

The first play, Angels, begins with a SkyTrain crash and reported angel sighting. The main character is an Anglican deacon who is counselling survivors and police officers alike...only to find herself wrestling with her own faith. One question haunts the entire community:  Do miracles still happen in the 21^st Century?

The Odyssey is a mystical journey where multiple storylines intersect—a blind woman searching for truth, a flustered bride with a case of cold feet, and a handsome young atheist who falls for a Christian in spite of himself. As their stories intertwine, questions emerge about faith, love, and the relevance of Christ’s birth story in a world where God can seem curiously absent.

The third drama is aptly named The Trinity Advent Play, where a young woman named Peg searches for meaning in a difficult Christmas. A painful secret threatens Peg’s relationship with both her husband and God, yet she finds herself drawn again and again to the Advent wreath at church. As the candles light up one by one, Peg starts to realize that God may be capable of surprising her after all.

A pair of multi-talented SAMC Theatre majors stepped up to the plate for costume design (Mikayla Wust) and set design (Shelby Wyminga). Lloyd Arnett directs local actors Graham Boldt, Elizabeth Drummond, Emily Herbison, Jordan Klassen, Madeleine Osborne, and Teagan Plett.

WHERE: 

TWU’s School of the Arts, Media + Culture (SAMC)

7600 Glover Rd. Langley

WHEN:

November 24 – 28, 7:30PM

Running Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30pm with a matinee Saturday at 2pm 

*The performance on Tuesday November 24 will be followed by a special talkback with the cast and director.