Award-winning Maple Ridge actor Ben Odberg is taking his talents to White Rock.
Odberg plays the lead role in the upcoming Canadian Premiere of The Game’s Afoot, written by acclaimed American playwright Ken Ludwig.
Presented by Peninsula Productions and directed by Wendy Bollard, the play is set in 1936 in the extravagant Connecticut castle of Odberg’s character, Broadway star William Gillette.
The play builds on the best traditions of ‘whodunits’ by Agatha Christie and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and is laced with the rapier-like wit of an English drawing-room.
Known for his years of work with the Maple Ridge Players, as well as his roles on many TV shows, including Smallville and Cold Squad, Odberg recently won Best Actor at Mainstage in Kamloops for his portrayal of Henry II in The Lion in Winter for White Rock Players Club in 2012.
When the veteran actor of more than 80 plays is not plying his craft on the stage, he can often be seen on the roads applying the same dedication to his love of cycling.
Masterfully adept at switching between the drama and humour of the play, Odberg dons the cloak of Gillette as a wanna-be Sherlock Holmes and seeks a killer amongst the guests in his mansion.
Bollard says she jumped at the chance to work with such a talented actor.
“Ben is a delight to work with” she says. “I had seen Ben’s work previously and was thrilled when he agreed to play the role.”
The play won the 2012 Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allen Poe Awards as best play.
• The Game’s Afoot runs July 10 to 28 at the Coast Capital Playhouse, 1532 Johnston Rd., White Rock. Tickets are $18 to $23 and are available at 604-536-7536 and at the Playhouse box office on Tuesdays to Saturdays from 1 to 5 p.m. You can also go online at whiterockplayers.ca.