Theatre by the River believes ferociously that theatre should not only be entertaining - rolling in the aisles, edge of your seat, jump to your feet entertaining - it should be deeply relevant to your life. Jazz hands meets therapy.

Last year's One Good Marriage returns for a "not quite world" tour to the Toronto Fringe Festival. Sean Reycraft's darkly funny story about newlyweds searching for community after their wedding went up in flames was a five star, A-plus hit at the Winnipeg Fringe last year. And like good Winnipeggers, we know how to share.

We're not missing the Winnipeg Fringe though! American playwright Neil LaBute and TBTR share the wheel for Autobahn - a collection of frequently hilarious, oft unsettling, always interesting scenes set in the front seat of modernity's symbol of power. Buckle up.

A provincial - and probably a federal - election is bearing down on us. Manitobans will deserve more than a few laughs this fall to balance the scales and Theatre by the River is going to deliver with one of the funniest plays we've read in ages: Michael Healey's Generous. A cutting satire of modern Canadian politics, Generous ponders our capacity for manipulation and our potential for altruism. What would the world look like if everyone just tried to be generous?

We hope you'll join us.

Mel Marginet & Matthew TenBruggencate
Artistic Directors, Theatre by the River
February, 2011