"Author Mike Heffernan says his book Rig: An Oral History of the Ocean Ranger Disaster is about memory and emotion.

In Rig Heffernan presents 36 transcribed interviews with people connected to the Ranger, and he has continued to build on this published material with ongoing research. From these words, their words, we have distilled a retelling of events around that night in February 1982, when 84 men were lost. But not forgotten – it is the voices of their families and colleagues that are the authors of this piece.

The process of bringing this to stage has been immeasurably aided by the casts of both the production in Trinity in the summer of 2010 and in the Barbara Barrett Theatre in 2012, and the actors on stage in the 2015 production." - Playwright Joan Sullivan

This production is on the road with six actors playing over 20 characters created from interviews for the book conducted with people connected to the Ranger.

Written by Joan Sullivan
Featuring: Janet Edmonds, Petrina Bromley, Natalia Hennelly, Kevin Curran, Stephen Lush, and Lawrence Barry

Directed by  Michael Worthman and Stage Managed by  Kirsti Mikoda

2015 TOUR DATES:

March 15 - Eastport, The Beaches Arts and Heritage Centre

March 18-19 - Bonavista, The Garrick Theatre

March 22 - Burin, Father Joe Barton Social Centre

March 23 - Rushoon, Christ The King School

March 25-26 - Placentia Bay Cultural Arts Centre

March 27-28 - Milton-George’s Brook Community Cultural House

Rig  has been in development since 2010 and with the help of many continues to be developed into the piece that is being performed today.

A premiere production of Rig was presented in Trinity as part of Rising Tide Theatre’s Seasons in The Bight in 2010 and 2012 as part of the ongoing development of the project. The 2010 cast included: Paul Rowe, Larry Barry, Ken Butt, Edmund Stapleton, James Hawksley, Charlie Tomlinson, Donna Butt, Sandy Gow, Doug Ballett and Jennifer Billard.

In 2012 Rig was performed at the Barbara Barrett Theatre in St. John's. The cast included: Pamela Morgan, Janet Edmonds, Allison Kelly, Andy Jones, Ken Butt, Lee Fowlow, Evan Mercer, Colin Furlong, Steve Oates, Paul Rowe, and Larry Barry. Dramaturgy for the 2012 production by Donna Butt and Charlie Tomlinson, and directed by Charlie Tomlinson.