The House of Special Purpose
Presented by The Twilight Company
The House of Special Purpose is a dreamy, fragmented musical about the Romanov family’s reign and brutal execution during the Russian Revolution. The Imperial family was imprisoned in a merchant’s home in Yekaterinburg, ominously nicknamed “The House of Special Purpose.” On July 17, 1918, they were led into the cellar and killed.
Now, their spirits remain.
Trapped in the room where they died, the Romanovs are suspended in a dreamlike purgatory – spinning “around and around and around” as they relive the moments that define their lives and continue to reverberate through history. Memory fractures, time dissolves, and the past refuses to let them go.
Music & Lyrics by: Ruaridh MacDonald
Additional Music & Lyrics by: Belinda Corpuz
Book by: Sarah Bergbusch & Ruaridh MacDonald
Orchestrations by: Alex Pannetton
CAST:
Nikolai: Iain Stewart
Alexandra: Raquel Duffy
Olga: Anika Venkatesh
Tatiana: Alicia Barban
Maria: Christina Smith
Anastasia: Lucy Janisse
Alexi: Easton Lang
Dr. Botkin (Piano): Jake Schindler
Anna (Violin): Alexa MacDougall
Alexi Trupp (Upright Bass): Malcolm Connor
Ivan (Percussion): Lucas Redwood
Director: Dean Deffett
Choreographer: Sierra Holder
Music Director: Jake Schindler
Associate Music Director: Erin Yip
Stage Manager: Taylor Cumming
Costume Designer: Katie Hochman
Lighting Designer: Gareth Edwards
Sound Designer: Alex Purcell
Set Designer: Ruaridh MacDonald
Head Of Props: Max McKerlie
Executive Producer: Jocelyne Lang
Associate Producer: Will Parry
Administrative Producer: Landon Walliser
Local Business Sponsor: Fieldview Financial Services | Sunlife
Produced with support from Pucker’s Co & Curtain Razors Theatre
June 3
to June 6, 2026
Tickets are $35
Franco Boni Theatre
Wednesday June 3rd at 8pm (Preview)
Thursday June 4th at 8pm
Friday June 5th at 8pm
Saturday June 6th at 8pm
Please Note: This performance contains mentions of violence, death, antisemitism, childbirth, bright lights and visual representation of blood.
This performance is 85 minutes
November 25, 2025
From Artistic Director Aislinn Rose “We, and the artists and community who have found a home at 1115 Queen Street West, shall be forever grateful. Thank you Lindy.” Lindy Cowan and Chris Hatley being celebrated at the naming event for The Theatre Centre’s Franco Boni Theatre in 2016, and the closing of our capital campaign. I...
