Hey Toronto! Introducing Jeremy Webb!

If you have been to the theatre in Halifax anytime since the Summer of 1998, chances are you probably love Jeremy Webb. More versatile than a Vaudevillian and just as outrageous, this actor/director/producer/host has been creating art and orchestrating mayhem to the delight of thousands in Halifax since his departure from England twelve years ago. Now, I am excited to announce that he is bringing one of his critically acclaimed shows, Shakespeare on Trial, to Toronto where it will play for a limited engagement June 3rd and 4th at 8pm in the Tarragon Theatre Extra Space.

Shakespeare On Trial is a comedy written by Jeremy Webb and performed by Webb with Simon Henderson. It is targeted specifically at Junior and Senior High Students and has toured to schools and venues across Nova Scotia; however, because of its cleverness and the rich subject matter of Shakespeare’s text, the play also has wide appeal with general audiences. I have seen the show in Halifax twice and here is a review that I wrote about it last Summer.

Oh, where to begin to tell you about Jeremy? Jeremy Webb is a graduate of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and, prior to coming to Halifax, played Hamlet when he was twenty-three years old. Since arriving in Nova Scotia his theatre credits are plentiful and varied. He won a Merritt Award in 2009 for his outstanding performance as Iago in Othello at Shakespeare By the Sea, and was beloved by audiences as Cogsworth in Neptune Theatre’s box-office-breaking production of Beauty and the Beast. He has also appeared in The Producers, Oliver, Annie, One For the Pot, Sleeping Beauty, Sylvia, Scrooge, What the Butler Saw, The Government Inspector, A Christmas Carol, Blood Brothers and Rumours (all for Neptune Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare by the Sea), Maurice in Beauty and the Beast (Sivermist Productions in Niagara Falls), he played Felix Humble in the Canadian Premiere of Humble Boy, two hander plays Stones in His Pockets and the Woman in Black and was in There Is a Land of Pure Delight at Live Bait Theatre in New Brunswick.

In Canada he has directed such shows as Pinocchio, Urinetown, Blue Remembered Hills, The Wizard of Oz, A Streetcar Named Desire, Animal Farm, The Farm Show, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Twelfth Night, Liar, Joseph, Godspell, The Wind in the Willows, Les Miserables, The Hobbit, Oliver and I Do! I Do! His one-man version of A Christmas Carol has played Neptune’s Studio Theatre in 2003, 2005 and 2008 and toured Nova Scotian schools and venues across the province.

In 1999 Webb founded Halifax’s Improv Knights, a comedy team that played nearly every Nova Scotian venue throughout their seven year run. On television, he can be heard as the voice of Ms. Grumply in Olliver’s Adventures and Evil Schmeevil in the cartoon of the same name (both for Teletoon). He was seen on television as Mr. Crowe for CDB’s Pit Pony and also on Salter Street’s Lexx, Global’s Blackfly, The Conclave, Bad Day Good Day Bad Day, Blessed Stranger- After Flight 111 and Shattered City, as well as various TV and radio commercials.

He has been the Emcee for events around Nova Scotia and has hosted events from The Halifax Comedy Festivval to The Busker Festival and The Coast Best of Halifax Awards. He is also an accomplished photographer with his own column, Off The Leash, that focuses on the Nova Scotia arts and social scene, which appears in the Chronicle Herald every Sunday.

As if all that wasn’t enough to make even the Energizer Bunny take a nap, in 2009, Jeremy Webb produced and directed Wake, his first short film. It is appearing as part of CBC’s SHORT FILM FACE-OFF – a reality-style show where films compete for a prize package of CBC and equipment services. The show will air, and be open for voting, in July. You can watch the trailer for Wake here.