Slapstick comedy will revive The Village Theatre in Naramata after 104-year hiatus

It's going to be slapstick funny -- a daring adaptation of a Shakespearean classic in contemporary language with a smidge of Renaissance English thrown in for good measure.

It's 'Dream' a stage production transformation of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' by Penticton's Tempest Theatre.

Beyond the modern revamp, what makes the 'Dream' run July 1-5 unique is that it will be staged at The Village Theatre in Naramata -- a performance venue that has been forgotten for the past 104 years.

"In theatre, it's important to know what we're doing and why we're doing it," said Tempest Theatre co-founder and 'Dream' producer Ronan Reinart.

"Dream is an interesting, fun and meaningful local take on a well-known story that revisits the principals of The Little Theatre Movement and helps us understand the history."

Wow, that's a lot of bases to cover.

So, let's start at the beginning.

In 1908, Carroll Aikins arrived in Naramata from a family that was well politically-connected in Manitoba.

Aikins planted apple orchards, married the daughter of the American consul-general in Ottawa and started The Home Theatre, an 80-seat venue in an apple packinghouse, in 1920.

It was part of The Little Theatre Movement sweeping North America -- an experimental reaction to commercial, mainstream stage productions and silent films that would become talkie movies.

Although, Aikins' The Home Theatre was more sophisticated than you might expect.

It had a lighting system designed by a pro from New York and a generator retrofitted from a tractor.

Prime Minister Arthur Meighen came to Naramata to open The Home Theatre in 1920 and Governor General Vincent Massey pronounced it the most significant theatre in the country.

Over the next two years, actors trained and rehearsed and put on the first Greek drama presented in Canada, the first Passion play.

When the apple market collapsed in 1922, Aikins abandoned The Home Theatre to hang out in Toronto, where he was artistic director of Hart House Theatre.

"It's a fascinating story," said Reinart.

"After 1922, for 30 years, it was used as a storage facility for agricultural equipment and cold storage for fruits and vegetables. When the Van Westen family bought the property in the 1950s they didn't know much about the theatrical history of the building. A fire in the 1980s or 1990s took off the top floor and it sat unused for years. With a new roof, the building, for the last 20 years, has been used by the Van Westens as an extended garage storing tractors and winemaking equipment."

Yes, Van Westen is a winery with Rob Van Westen at the helm and it was Rob who renamed the space The Village Theatre.

It was also Rob who eventually approached Tempest Theatre in Penticton and suggested some sort of theatrical reboot-wine collaboration.

So, for seven shows, July 1-5, 80 people will arrive at a time to meet in 'The Shed' -- the name of Van Westens tasting room -- to sip some wines and then walk through to the theatre space to enjoy 'Dream' on a temporary stage in front of temporary seating.

Tempest Theatre artistic director Kate Twa wrote and is directing 'Dream'.

While Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' follows a bunch of rich people in love triangles with much misunderstanding because of love potions, 'Dream' riffs off that to make the commoners and tradespeople in the original play the stars with more slapstick comic relief.

After the run at The Village Theatre July 1-5, Dream moves to Tempest Theatre in Penticton for seven more shows July 8-12.

Tickets and details at tempest.ca/dream-2026