Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre-Media Centre
“Buoys the spirit and fills your heart with the power of hope.” – Hamilton Spectator

Inspired by Princess Diana’s historic visit to Toronto’s Casey House in 1991, Casey and Diana is a tremendously moving and surprisingly funny portrait of the men at the heart of the AIDS crisis, their devoted caregivers, and the ‘People’s Princess’ who had the compassion to hold their hands when no one else would.

Thomas wasn’t planning to be at Casey House much longer but an upcoming visit from Princess Diana gives him a reason to stick around. Soon he’s rallying the other residents to hang on for seven more days. But in a hospice for people living with AIDS, a week is a long time. As they wait impatiently for the big day, Thomas entertains everyone with his gallows humour, his roommate frets about unfinished business and they both struggle with family relationships.

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Click on the image to download the digital program:

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EnrichmentGuide-(1).jpg
Warnings: 
Strong language, mature themes

 

Running time: 
Approx. 2 hrs 30 mins, incl. intermission


Sharon Bajer & Noah Beemer in Casey and Diana, photo by Dylan Hewlett

Opening Night sponsor:



ACCESSIBILITY: We're offering an ASL-Interpreted Performance on April 10 at 7:30pm. LEARN MORE


Cast & Crew

Production
Nick Green photo
Nick Green

Playwright

Playwright Nick Green
Nick Green photo

Nick Green

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Nick Green is a Dora Award-winning playwright in Toronto. Most recently, Nick’s play Casey and Diana premiered to a sold-out run at the Stratford Festival of Canada before transferring to Soulpepper Theatre. His play Dinner with the Duchess, which had a developmental production at Next Stage was part of Here For Now Theatre’s 2024 season. Other favourite credits include In Real Life (book, Musical Stage Company, Tom Hendry Award Winner); Dr. Silver (book, South Coast Repertory’s Pacific Playwrights Festival 2022 and 2023); Happy Birthday Baby J (Shadow Theatre); Body Politic (lemonTree Creations/Buddies in Bad Times, Dora Mavor Moore Award Winner, Outstanding New Play); Fangirl (book, Musical Stage Company); and Living the Dream (book, Canadian Music Theatre Projects).

Andrew Kushnir photo
Andrew Kushnir

Director

Director Andrew Kushnir
Andrew Kushnir photo

Andrew Kushnir

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Director: Casey and Diana (Stratford, Soulpepper, Heritage Toronto Award); Bad Roads (Crow’s Theatre, Dora Award for Outstanding Direction, Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award for Best Director); The Trials (U of T); The Division (TMU/Tarragon); The Real Poems (Here for Now); This Is Something Else (Arts Club theatre podcast); Towards Youth (Project: Humanity/Crow’s); Freedom Singer (Project: Humanity); Shirley Valentine, New Canadian Curling Club (Thousand Islands Playhouse).

TRAINING University of Alberta.

ET CETERA Andrew is artistic director of the socially engaged theatre company, Project: Humanity in Toronto. He is an alumnus of St. Paul’s High School, a Loran Scholar and Senior Fellow at Massey College. In 2022, Andrew founded the We Support LGBTQ Ukraine Fund which to date has raised over $140,000 for NGOs and activists meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ Ukrainians trapped or internally displaced by war. lgbtukrainesupport.com

Joshua Quinlan photo
Joshua Quinlan

Set & Costume Designer

Set & Costume Designer Joshua Quinlan
Joshua Quinlan photo

Joshua Quinlan

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Casey and Diana, Every Little Nookie (Stratford); Uncle Vanya (Crow’s/Mirvish/TA); The Master Plan (Crow’s/TA/Soulpepper); Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, Rosmersholm, Wights (Crow’s Theatre); Hamlet (CS); Hedda Gabler, Yerma (Coal Mine); Million Dollar Quartet (Grand); The Sound of Music, The Music Man (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Little Shop of Horrors (Port Hope); The Drawer Boy, My Hero (Port Stanley Festival Theatre); An Enemy of the People, Don Giovanni, Stupid F*cking Bird (Ohio State University).

TRAINING MFA Theatre – Design, The Ohio State University; BA Honours Drama, University of Windsor. Off The Wall Production Arts Program.

ET CETERA Siminovitch Protégé Designer, Dora Award Winner, Brian Jackson and Tom Patterson Awards recipient, Ian and Molly Lindsay Design Fellow.

Logan Raju Cracknell photo
Logan Raju Cracknell

Lighting Designer

Lighting Designer Logan Raju Cracknell
Logan Raju Cracknell photo

Logan Raju Cracknell

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Alice in Wonderland (Bad Hats/Soulpepper); Alligator Pie (Soulpepper); Roberto Zucco (Buddies in Bad Times); A Year with Frog and Toad (Capitol Theatre); Shirley Valentine (TA); Fairview (CS/Obsidian); Lady Day at Emersons Bar and Grill (TC); Dixon Road (Musical Stage/Obsidian); Cliff Cardinal’s As You Like It (Crow’s); Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (CS); Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Howland/Crow’s); Enemy Lines (Aeris Korper); Agit-Pop! (Pearle Harbour); Icemen (Theatre by the Bay).

TRAINING Graduate of York University’s Theatre Production Program.

Ashley Au photo
Ashley Au

Composer & Sound Designer

Composer & Sound Designer Ashley Au
Ashley Au photo

Ashley Au

ROYAL MTC Little Women, The Recipe (with TPM), The Lehman Trilogy, among men (with TPM), Burning Mom, Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, Trouble in Mind, Orlando. 2022/23 National Mentorship Program.

OTHER THEATRE The Year of Magical Thinking (PTE); 2024 ThisGen Fellow (Why Not Theatre).

TRAINING B.Mus (Jazz Performance) Brandon University, School of Music.

ET CETERA Ashley Au (she/they) is a Winnipeg-based bassist, composer, sound artist, arranger and queer creative. A multifaceted musician, Ashley specializes in the upright and electric basses – performing, touring and recording extensively for the last 15 years. Current and past projects include work with Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson; composer/trumpeter Chuck Copenace; and Polaris Prize-nominated hip-hop outfit Super Duty Tough Work. As a composer, Ashley has had work commissioned and performed nationally and internationally. She has most recently had work premiere at the Senate of Canada in Ottawa as well as had work exhibited in London, UK. She is the Artistic Director for Cluster: New Music + Integrated Arts Festival.

Geoff Scovell photo
Geoff Scovell

Fight Director

Fight Director Geoff Scovell
Geoff Scovell photo

Geoff Scovell

ROYAL MTC First engagement. 

OTHER THEATRE 12 seasons at the Stratford Festival; Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Crow’s Theatre); Casey and Diana (Soulpepper, Stratford); The Black Drum (Soulpepper); Sherlock Holmes…, Peter and the Starcatcher, Sweet Charity, Cyrano de Bergerac (Shaw); Don Giovanni, War and Peace (COC). 

FILM/TV (selected) Stunts: Over 150 credits but most recently Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, The Boys (five seasons), See, FUBAR, Rock Springs, The Last Frontier, Seeds, Jack Reacher, What We Do in the Shadows.

TRAINING Supreme Fight Master Elite Level 3. BFA, Ryerson University. 

ET CETERA Awards: SAG nomination, Best Stunt Ensemble for The Boys in 2021, 2023 and 2024. Paddy Crean award for excellence. Online: @GeoffScovell

Rebecca Cuthbertson photo
Rebecca Cuthbertson

Dialect Coach

Dialect Coach Rebecca Cuthbertson
Rebecca Cuthbertson photo

Rebecca Cuthbertson

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Various productions at the Stratford Festival in Ontario, and in England at the Globe Theatre, the Royal National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Donmar, the Young Vic, Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre and the Hampstead, etc., and provided voice support for numerous West End productions. 

TRAINING MA in Voice Studies at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London.

ET CETERA Rebecca is very happy to be a part of this production and to be making her coaching debut with Royal MTC.

Tara Rosling photo
Tara Rosling

Assistant Director

Assistant Director Tara Rosling
Tara Rosling photo

Tara Rosling

ROYAL MTC First engagement.

OTHER THEATRE Directing: A Recluse and His Guest, And Then There Was You, Dear Elizabeth, Gnit (staged reading), This Property is Condemned (Shaw). Assistant Directing: Romeo & Juliet (upcoming at Dream in High Park by Canadian Stage, RBC Emerging Artist); One Man, Two Guvnors, The Orphan of Chao (Shaw). Acting: Tara has performed on many stages across the country including 12 seasons at Shaw.

FILM/TV Acting: Star Trek Discovery, Impulse, Happy Place, Beacon 23, The Handmaid’s Tale.

ET CETERA Tara has been nominated for four Dora awards and been the recipient of two. Thank you, Andrew, for allowing me to be privy to your (he)ART and Patrick for allowing me to follow mine.

Michael Hart photo
Michael Hart

Stage Manager

Stage Manager Michael Hart
Michael Hart photo

Michael Hart

ROYAL MTC Real Live Girl (with Buddies), Mother Courage and her Children (with NAC).

OTHER THEATRE 28 seasons at the Stratford Festival including The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Casey and Diana, The Rocky Horror Show, The Tempest starring Christopher Plummer, The Duchess of Malfi, The Swanne Trilogy; A Christmas Story, The Musical (TA); Casey and Diana (Soulpepper); Angels in America (That Theatre Co./Buddies); Fall On Your Knees (CS/Neptune/NAC/Grand); Heisenberg, Liv Stein (CS); Constellations (Centaur/CS); Body Politic (Buddies); The Death of the King (Modern Times); The Winter’s Tale (Groundling); Bombay Black (Factory); Manon, Sandra and the Virgin Mary (Pleiades); Saint Carmen of The Main (NAC/CS); Fully Committed, Silence, Einstein’s Gift (Grand); Wit (Centaur); Hamlet (Neptune).

ET CETERA For my Dad, Campbell.

Samantha Desiree photo
Samantha Desiree

Assistant Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager Samantha Desiree
Samantha Desiree photo

Samantha Desiree

ROYAL MTC ASM: Clue (with Grand). Apprentice SM: Yaga, Into the Woods, Network, The Rez Sisters, Orlando.

OTHER THEATRE Upcoming: Bring it On: The Musical (The Globe). SM: Merrily We Roll Along (Dry Cold); Hansel & Gretel, Castor et Pollux, Mansplaining Division (MUO); Looking Glass, Season Launch 22/23 (WCD). ASM: Narnia (Bad Hats/MTYP). Apprentice SM: The Wizard of Oz (Rainbow). Apprentice Lighting Designer: Narrow Bridge (WJT). Production & Tour Coordinator: Seven Visions digital school tour (Sarasvàti). Associate Producer/Sound Design: Othello (Echo). SM/Production Assistant: FemFest 2019 & 2020 (Sarasvàti). Performer Services Manager with the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival. 

TRAINING U of W Bachelor of Arts Honours – Stage Management, Production and Design. Creative Manitoba Mentorship in Stage Management 2020/21. Mentorship funded by Associated Designers of Canada in Lighting Design 2022/23.

ET CETERA As always, couldn’t do it without my partner, Matt, and cat, Zella.

Samantha Sage photo
Samantha Sage

Apprentice Stage Manager

Apprentice Stage Manager Samantha Sage
Samantha Sage photo

Samantha Sage

ROYAL MTC Mix Tapes From My Mom, The Lehman Trilogy.

OTHER THEATRE Glad to Be Here (TBTR); Space Girl (PTE); Antigone (Sick + Twisted/AA Battery/The Mariachi Ghost); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Iago Speaks, Much Ado About Nothing (SIR); Ô Canada, té qui toi?, Cet été qui chantait, Inédit (Théâtre Cercle Molière).

TRAINING Graduate of the University of Winnipeg.

ET CETERA Enjoy the show!

Cast
Sharon Bajer photo
Sharon Bajer

Marjorie

Marjorie Sharon Bajer
Sharon Bajer photo

Sharon Bajer

ROYAL MTC (selected) Actor: Clue (with Grand), The Three Musketeers, Sense and Sensibility, Kill Me Now (with NAC), Hand to God, Late Company, The Seagull, A Christmas Story, August: Osage County, The Penelopiad, Top Girls, Steel Magnolias, Humble Boy, Of Mice and Men, Angels in America, Les Belles-Soeurs, Our Country’s Good. Intimacy Director: The Piano Teacher, The Mountaintop, Clue (with Grand), Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, Into the Woods, New.

OTHER THEATRE Afterlight (The Keep/Walk&Talk/Rainbow); The Outside Inn (PTE); The Wizard of Oz (Rainbow). 

TRAINING Studio 58, Michael Langham Directing Program (Stratford). Certified Intimacy Director (ICC and IDC).

FILM/TV Recent projects include Little Bird, Written in the Stars, Dark Harvest, Ordinary Angels, Acting Good, Run; Intimacy Coordinator for The Porter, SkyMed, Wintertide, El Toro, Alter Boys, Little Bird and Don’t Even.

ET CETERA Coming up: AFTERLIGHT in October!

Noah Beemer photo
Noah Beemer

Andre

Andre Noah Beemer
Noah Beemer photo

Noah Beemer

ROYAL MTC First appearance.

OTHER THEATRE Wendy and Peter Pan, Cymbeline, Rent, A Wrinkle in Time, Finally There’s Sun (Stratford); Madam Minister, Into the Woods, The Judas Kiss, Sweeney Todd – Dora nomination (TiFT); The Wizard of Oz: The Panto (Drayton); Ride the Cyclone, Mamma Mia! (Tweed and Co.); The Adventures of Pinocchio (YPT); Kiss of the Spider Woman (Eclipse Theatre).

TRAINING Graduate of Sheridan’s Bachelor of Music Theatre Performance, along with attending Factory Theatre’s Mechanicals Program.

ET CETERA Noah has been in love with this show for a long time and is so grateful to be taking it on with this incredible company. Much love to his friends and family for their unending support.

Alicia Johnston photo
Alicia Johnston

Pauline

Pauline Alicia Johnston
Alicia Johnston photo

Alicia Johnston

ROYAL MTC New (with Necessary Angel), Outside Mullingar.

OTHER THEATRE Post Democracy, Happy Place, The Flats, Butcher (PTE); Red Earth (TPM/One Trunk); Que Faire d’Albert, Le Dieu du Carnage, Boing Boeing, Deux sur la Balançoire (TCM); Romeo and Juliet, Antony and Cleopatra, The Taming of the Shrew (SIR); Essay & The Russian Play (WJT); The Winter’s Tale (Tom Tom); Toronto Noir (SummerWorks); The Amorous Servant (Pleiades).

FILM/TV Champions, El Toro, Francesca Quin: PI, Acting Good, Padre, Edgar, Orphan: First Kill, The Good Father, Tales From the Loop, JT Leroy, Burden of Truth, Less Than Kind, Cinderella Man.

TRAINING Graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada.

ET CETERA For my siblings, with all my love.

Vera Gloria Mampuya
Gloria Mampuya photo

Gloria Mampuya

ROYAL MTC First appearance.

OTHER THEATRE Intimate Apparel, Doubt (Thousand Islands Playhouse); Crawlspace, Les Filles du Roi, Les Zinspiré.e.s Dix-Jonctés (Théâtre Français de Toronto); The First Stone (New Harlem Production/GCTC); Pipeline (Théâtre la Licorne/Black Theatre Workshop).

FILM/TV Steal Away (Clement Virgo, Conquering Lion Productions);
After Sunday (Omolola Ajao Productions); Paris Paris (CBC Gem, Rayne Zuckerman).

ET CETERA Gloria is looking forward to sharing this beautiful story of hope, compassion and community.

Gregory Prest photo
Gregory Prest

Thomas

Thomas Gregory Prest
Gregory Prest photo

Gregory Prest

ROYAL MTC First appearance.

OTHER THEATRE Actor: The Bidding War (Crow’s Theatre); The Inheritance (CS); Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and The Cursed Child (Mirvish); over 45 productions at Soulpepper including Of Human Bondage and Spoon River at Signature Theatre NYC, A Streetcar Named Desire, August: Osage County, Bed and Breakfast, La Bête, Angels in America. Writer/Director: De Profundis: Oscar Wilde in Jail (Soulpepper); Bremen Town (Next Stage). Director: Rose: A New Musical, Hosanna, The Heidi Chronicles (Soulpepper); Punk Rock (Howland Company).

FILM/TV Simon in Pillow Talk (Crave).

TRAINING National Theatre School.

ET CETERA Recipient of four Dora Awards (21 nominations), two Canadian Screen Award Nominations and a Toronto Theatre Critics’ Award.

Diana Catherine Wreford
Catherine Wreford photo

Catherine Wreford

ROYAL MTC Actor: Fun Home. Choreographer for The Cottage, A Doll’s House, Heisenberg, It’s a Wonderful Life: The Radio Play. Choreographer/Assistant Director for Million Dollar Quartet.

OTHER THEATRE Selected: 42nd Street, Oklahoma! (Broadway); 42nd Street, Annie Get Your Gun (Broadway Tour); West Side Story, The Tempest (Stratford); The Sound of Music, The Music Man, Les Misérables, Mamma Mia!, A Chorus Line, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, Little Mermaid (Rainbow); Romeo and Juliet (RWB); Merrily We Roll Along (Dry Cold).

FILM/TV Selected: Clown in a Cornfield, SkyMed, Stand!, The Metrosexual, Wrestle Maniac, The Harvest, Pittsburgh, Chloe.

TEACHING Teaches Musical Theatre at Sarah Daurie Dance Company.

ET CETERA On June 24, 2013 she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and was given two to six years to live. Undeterred, Catherine won Season 8 of The Amazing Race Canada with her best friend Craig Ramsay and amplified her mission to raise awareness and find a cure for brain cancer. Catherine is a living testament to the indomitable human spirit, an unwavering advocate for life, and an empowering voice that encourages us all to “run your own amazing race.” This one is for her truly amazing children Elliot and Quinn.

Loading ticket information
Production ID: 33978
Start Date: 3/19/2025 3:07:09 PM
End Date: 4/12/2025 3:07:20 PM
Title: Casey and Diana
Playwright: By Nick Green
Billing: Directed by Andrew Kushnir
A co-production with Theatre Aquarius
Warnings: Strong language, mature themes
Synopsis: “Buoys the spirit and fills your heart with the power of hope.” – Hamilton Spectator

Inspired by Princess Diana’s historic visit to Toronto’s Casey House in 1991, Casey and Diana is a tremendously moving and surprisingly funny portrait of the men at the heart of the AIDS crisis, their devoted caregivers, and the ‘People’s Princess’ who had the compassion to hold their hands when no one else would.

Thomas wasn’t planning to be at Casey House much longer but an upcoming visit from Princess Diana gives him a reason to stick around. Soon he’s rallying the other residents to hang on for seven more days. But in a hospice for people living with AIDS, a week is a long time. As they wait impatiently for the big day, Thomas entertains everyone with his gallows humour, his roommate frets about unfinished business and they both struggle with family relationships.

watchtrailer.jpg


Click on the image to download the digital program:

Ovation5Cover.jpg


EnrichmentGuide-(1).jpg
Facility: John Hirsch Mainstage
Alternate URL: https://royalmtc.ca/Current-Plays/Casey-and-Diana.aspx
Play Image:
Word Mark: 540c00a9-8d8e-4f49-beff-ab79bfd42c71
Rotator Image: 4bb31012-ecb9-4c3b-aff5-39294324fc29
Display Rotator From: 3/8/2025 7:05:00 PM
Display Rotator To: 4/12/2025 11:59:00 PM
 

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