The New Canadian Curling Club
"The winners always buy the losers drinks. I love curling!"
About the play
The hit play that lands right on the button!
A Chinese med student, a Jamaican coffee shop manager, an Indian father of three, and a teenage Syrian refugee walk into a curling club...
It's Monday night and four new Canadians have signed up for a Learn to Curl class. When the evening's organizer breaks her hip, the job of coaching is suddenly thrust upon Stuart MacPhail, the club's ice maker, former champion, and resident bigot.
What follows is the story of four unlikely athletes who face off against local prejudice to become a true team.
The New Canadian Curling Club is a both an outrageous sports comedy and a heartfelt drama about life in a new country. Hurry hard!
Staging Requirements
Cast: Five actors
Two Acts: 2 hours including interval
Flexible Interior Set
Press
★★★★ (out of four)
"I saw The New Canadian Curling Club with a packed house of regular theatregoers, invited members of several immigrant and refugee organizations, and members of several curling clubs. It proved so exciting and rewarding to hear so much spontaneous, heartfelt laughter of recognition and applause of appreciation."
- Calgary Herald
★★★★
"Achieves what may seem the impossible task of portraying its serious subject realistically and yet being warmly funny at the same time."
-Stage Door
"On matters of laughter and identity, The New Canadian Curling Club is on the button."
- London Fuse
"Laugh-out-loud funny. Damn funny! It’s a testament to The New Canadian Curling Club that theatregoers put their hearts behind the struggles of these four new Canadians as they struggle courageously to carve out lives of decency and integrity in a country that is home to such a ridiculous game as curling."
- Reid Between the Lines
"It is refreshing to see, in the case of this script, that there are some tensions among the teammates and not just between them and the local townsfolk, as this certainly adds to the depth and dynamic energy of this ensemble."
- Kingston Whig-Standard
“A moving, funny play about people who left their homelands, either willingly or forcibly, to come to Canada for a better life. Mark Crawford is a gifted writer who can realize the many and various experiences of people, and let those of us without those experiences, enter their lives and appreciate it all. Bravo.”
- Slotkin Letter
"A hilarious night in the theatre."
- Blyth Citizen
Production History
The New Canadian Curling Club premiered at Blyth Festival Theatre in 2018.
It has been produced across Canada at Alberta Theatre Projects (where it became the highest-grossing non-holiday show in the company's history), Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, Drayton Entertainment, Western Canada Theatre, Thousand Islands Playhouse, Victoria Playhouse Petrolia, Festival Antigonish, Theatre Orangeville, and more.
In 2025, the play will be produced by Neptune Theatre and Magnus Theatre, with more productions to come...
Gallery
The New Canadian Curling Club is currently available for licensing to professional theatres.
To inquire about rights, please visit the contact page.
Photo Credits on this page:
Banner photo by Randy deKleine-Stimpson: Richard Lam, Jenni Burke, Parmida Vand, and Richard Young at Thousand Islands Playhouse/Western Canada Theatre. About the Play photo by Leif Norman: Lorraine James and Doug McKeag at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Staging Requirements photo by Jenni Grandfield: Zaynna Khalife, Norman Yeung, Andrew Prashad, John Jarvis, and Chiamaka Glory at Drayton Entertainment. Press Photo by Randy deKleine-Stimpson: Parmida Vand and Guy Bannerman at Thousand Islands Playhouse/Western Canada Theatre. Production History photo by Benjamin Laird: Sepidar Yeganeh Farid, Richard Young, Jonathan Ho, and Jenni Burke at Alberta Theatre Projects. Gallery Photo 1 by Terry Manzo: Marcia Johnson, Matthew Gin, Omar Alex Khan, Parmida Vand, and Lorne Kennedy at Blyth Festival. Gallery Photo 2 by Bernice MacDonald: Adrian Choong and Liliona Quarmyne at Festival Antigonish. Gallery Photo 3 by Benjamin Laird: Jonathan Ho, Richard Young, and Jenni Burke at Alberta Theatre Projects. Gallery Photo 4 by Laura Grandfield: Zaynna Khalife at Drayton Entertainment. Gallery Photo 5 by Leif Norman: Sophie Smith-Dostmohamed, Omar Alex Khan, Lorraine James, and Zhaopeng Meng at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.