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An art-gallery filled with champagne-sipping socialites gets a shock when a celebrity in their midst collapses dead to the floor. A journalist assigned to investigate her death discovers that there’s far more that meets the eye as politicians, lawyers and more prevent him from uncovering the truth.
This is the premise of George F. Walker’s play Gossip, which opens on March 13 at the Gas Station Arts Centre in Osborne Village. The play is being presented by Hood and Dagger Productions, who have been waiting a long time to share this Canadian show with local audiences.
“When I was graduating from high school, somebody gave me an anthology of George F. Walker’s work, and I have been waiting years to find the right opportunity to put on this play,” shared Hood and Dagger Productions co-founder and Gossip director Brian Hood on Morning Light.
“We wanted to put on something that was Canadian. We wanted to put on something there that we can use our local audiences and our local cast and crew. It speaks to the time now as much as it did before about our obsessions with celebrity and gossip, and how sometimes that gets in the way of finding out the truth of what’s really going on in the matter.”
Walker’s play, which exists in a film-noir style, highlights the folly of celebrity culture through the zaniness of its characters, all existing around the grounding presence of Tyrone Power, the journalist who is attempting to get to the bottom of the murder.
“The actors have done a really fantastic job of really delving into the characters’ inner selves and have been able to pull out both the worst version of these characters, but also really dug into the best version of themselves as well,” shares assistant stage manager Theresa Enns-Zehr.
Given the over-the-top nature of the production, it could be easy for the actors to go too far and ruin the experience for the audience. This is where the role of Hood and Dagger’s production staff comes in to ensure that the actors can find authenticity and grounding within themselves and through external elements.
“Talking with the actors is really a big key,” shares makeup and effects artist Chloe Brown, “because they have more of an understanding of what the characters are. And so, we start having that conversation, and then, honestly, sometimes, it’s when we put on that eye liner... they’re like, ‘I’m in it.’”
A key element of Hood and Dagger’s mission as a community theatre group is to use their art to give back to their community. They have partnered with Manitoba Harvest for the run of Gossip and are donating a portion of ticket proceeds to the organization.
“All of us are volunteers,” Hood explains. “And so, when we’re creating something like this, if it is financially successful, we want to be able to share that success with the community.”
In the midst of all the final preparations for Gossip, Hood and Dagger Productions has also announced its 2025-2026 season, which is filled with more productions of mystery and intrigue. This includes an adaptation of Shirley Jackson’s novel The Haunting of Hill House, a theatrical retelling of the Alfred Hitchcock film The 39 Steps, and a gender-bending imagination of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved detective in Miss Holmes.
For tickets and more information about Gossip at the Gas Station Arts Centre, Winnipeg theatregoers are encouraged to visit Hood and Dagger Productions’ website.