For Immed. Release: 10/10/08: Arts - Theatre | Theatre at UBC presents BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR by John Gray with Eric Peterson. Director: Sarah Rogers, Staring Ryan Beil (as Billy Bishop) & John Gray’s son Zachary Gray! | Note: professional theatre | Runs: Oct. 29 – Nov. 11, 2008 | Mon. – Sat at 7:30 p.m. | $6 Preview: Oct. 29 | Opening Night author John Gray speaks: Oct. 30 | REMEMBERANCE DAY: Benefits Poppy Fund, Nov. 11 | TELUS Studio Theatre, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, UBC | Tickets: Reg. $25/Senior $20/Student $15 | Box Office: 604.822.2678 Media Contact: Deb Pickman P: 604.319.7656 E: [email protected] T H E U N I V E R S I T Y O F B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A Billy Bishop Goes to War By John Gray with Eric Peterson Directed by Sarah Rodgers - Starring Ryan Beil as Billy Bishop with John Gray’s son Zachary Gray On the eve of its 30th anniversary, this classic Canadian musical asks a new generation of theatre audiences to follow heroic Canadian WWI fighter pilot Billy Bishop down into the trenches, up to the skies and inside the human spirit as he attempts to reconcile the ecstasy of flying with the horrors of war. This high-flying ace of a show captures the humor, the hellfire, and the derring-do of an extraordinary career. With a superb mixture of irony and white-knuckle tale telling, Billy Bishop is simply a sensational evening’s entertainment. “AN ABSOLUTE TRIUMPH!” – Guardian "A DELIGHTFUL AND CUNNINGLY WROUGHT WORK OF ART" - New Yorker Created by our celebrated alumni, Order of Canada recipient John Gray with Corner Gas star Eric Peterson (who met as students in the Department of Theatre at UBC in the early 1970s), Billy Bishop Goes to War is the recipient of many honours including a Governor General's Award, Chalmers Award and Los Angeles Drama Critics Award. It received a Broadway staging produced by Mike Nichols, and three made-for-TV movies in both English and German. The play’s creators performed Billy Bishop internationally for upwards of four years after its debut at the Vancouver East Cultural Centre on November 11, 1978. John Gray, named after a WW II Spitfire pilot who went down over the English Channel, recalls of their time with the play,“We were in uniform a good deal longer than Bishop himself, albeit with less risk.” “RIVETING AND MEMORABLE - BILLY BISHOP TELLS US THE TRUTH ABOUT WAR: THAT IT IS HORRIBLE AND THAT GOOD MEN CAN YET GROW IN IT, EVEN ENJOY IT. SUCH HONESTY IS UNUSUAL AND DISTURBING.” - Scotsman || “CREATES AND DEFLATES THE HERO MYTH IN THE SAME GESTURE.” - Vancouver Sun Give him any stage (to dive off in solo flight), a thrilling story to tell, over a dozen parts to play and the right performer will create pure theatrical magic in Billy Bishop Goes to War. For director and UBC alumna Sarah Rodgers [MFA Directing/BFA Acting], alumnus Ryan Beil [BFA Acting] is the right performer and playwright John Gray’s son Zachary Gray [BA History] is the right musical accompanist to bring Billy Bishop Goes to War to life in UBC’s TELUS Studio*. The creative team includes theatre at UBC MFA Design alumni Kevin McAllister [Set] and Ian Schimpf [Lighting], with MFA Design candidate Basha Ladovsky [Costumes] and BFA Production candidate Ben Cheung [Stage Manager]. Billy Bishop Goes to War is a UBC Centenary presentation www.100.ubc.ca "THE FURTHER BACKWARD YOU CAN LOOK, THE FURTHER FORWARD YOU CAN SEE.” - Winston Churchill [*Note: TWO PRODUCTIONS TAKE FLIGHT! First Impressions Theatre matches this production by Theatre at UBC with a convergent mounting Nov. 5 - 22, 2008 at the Deep Cove Shaw Theatre. Featuring UBC alumni director Gerry Mackay [MFA Directing/BFA Acting] and Damon Calderwood [BA Theatre] as Billy Bishop with accompanist Gordon Roberts. Tickets: 604.929.9456 Info: www.firstimpressionstheatre.com] BILLY BISHOP GOES TO WAR: Oct. 29 - Nov. 11, 2008 TELUS Studio Theatre, Chan Centre for the Performing Arts, UBC Point Gray Campus Director Sarah Rodgers. Starring Ryan Beil & John Gray’s son Zachary Gray! Note: Professional Theatre | Runs: Oct. 29 – Nov. 11, 2008 | Mon. – Sat. at 7:30 p.m. | $6 Preview: Oct. 29 | Opening Night playwright John Gray speaks: Oct. 30 | REMEMBRANCE DAY: Benefits Poppy Fund, Tues. Nov. 11 * at both theatres | Tickets: Reg $25/Senior $20/Student $15 Box Office: 604.822.2678 | Map: http://tinyurl.com/3n5cew More: www.theatre.ubc.ca .