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The Invasion 2016: KC's International Theatre Festival

Posted at 8:31 AM, Jul 13, 2016
and last updated 2016-07-13 09:31:48-04

The British are coming! The British are coming!

And, a Canadian and someone from Ireland. Oh, and a few well-traveled Americans. 

It’s an Invasion!

An invasion of great theater and different cultures and, most of all, wonderful entertainment.

Bob Paisley is the director of The Kansas City International Theatre Festival, also known as The Invasion.

Mr. Paisley has been bringing the world to the stages of Kansas City for a decade.

He says it is wonderful to see our town’s audiences fully embrace the talent and stories from other entertainment traditions.

This year there are six different shows at two different venues: The Theatre at MCC-Penn Valley and, where we were Wednesday morning, the Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre at 36th and Main.

It was an early hour to catch up with two of the actors from two of the productions.

John Fitzgerald Jay, from Canada, is the driving force behind the satire, "Hamlet: The Notes."

Nicholas Collett, from United Kingdom, is in "Your Bard." Yes, he plays Shakespeare.

Both say it is a marvelous experience to be performing work they believe in here in Kansas City.

Unlike most invasions, this one has a definite start and end date: July 13 through July 23.

Also, unlike most invasions, there are refreshments served during intermission.

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Joel Nichols can be reached at joel.nichols@kclive.tv.

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