The Hundred Acre Wood has become a little more populated recently. In an earlier article, we announced the reuniting of Langham Court Theatre‘s Pride and Prejudice actors Ellen Law and Ian Simms for Winnie the Pooh and Tales of 100 Acre Wood. Today, production company Outpost 31 announced a new cast member Melissa Taylor. She is an actor, writer and director. She created Bereavement (produced by the University of Victoria’s Student Alternative Theatre Company in 2011) and The Oldest Trick in the Book (as part of Theatre SKAM‘s SKAMpede in 2015).

Her one-act play Macramé will be performed next month (August 4 and 5) at Intrepid Theatre. Taylor has garnered critical praise for her portrayal of Mia in the Victoria Theatre Guild’s edgy production of Polly Stenham’s That Face. Times Colonist newspaper’s resident critic Adrian Chamberlain wrote, “[Taylor] captured the truth of her character, Mia, in a tremendously convincing manner. It was a skilled performance.”

She will be juggling the roles of bouncing Tigger and the respected Owl.

Writer David Elendune and director Ian Case (from last year’s show Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale) have pulled A. A. Milne’s creations straight from the pages of his stories and onto the stage for this production of the 2016 Victoria Fringe Theatre Festival. Elendune’s adaptation will see Christopher Robin, Pooh, Owl and Tigger against the backdrop of the London blitz during World War II (WWII). The last time a Victoria Fringe Play used Milne’s characters in a WWII setting was over 20 years ago. That drama saw Pooh and Piglet coming to terms as Christopher Robin experiences first hand the harsh realities of war as an officer in the British army.

Winnie the Pooh and Tales of 100 Acre Wood will be at Venue 2 – Downtown Activity Centre, 755 Pandora between August 25-September 4, 2016. This is an all-ages show and is part of the 2016 Victoria Fringe Festival.

The scheduled shows are as follows:

Thur Aug 25 – 8:00pm
Sat Aug 27 – 1:45pm
Sun Aug 28 – 6:30pm
Wed Aug 31 – 9:45pm
Sat Sept 3 – 6:45pm
Sun Sept 4 – 4:45pm

Macramé stars Rachel Myers, Kieran Dunch and is directed by Heather Jarvie-Laidlaw. Performances will be held August 4 and 5 at the Intrepid Theatre Club, #2-1609 Blanshard St., Victoria, British Columbia. Tickets are available for pruchase through Ticket Rocket at http://www.ticketrocket.co/event/details/89089/macram%C3%A9. To learn more about the play, visit their Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/794419967361886/.

Source(s): Outpost 31 Victoria‘s Facebook page and Melissa Taylor.