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firaveklus. 3 | ts eag & a Ueorso 741â€"0770 No Se a ; Record cr No Sex Please ans of British comedy Fwi]l enjoy the Drayton Festival Theatre‘s third offering of the season, "No Sex Please, We‘re British." Record crowds continue at Drayton Festival Theatre Written _ by _ Anthony Marriott and Alistair Foot, "No Sex Please..." features a hilarious sampling of innuâ€" endo, _ misunderstanding and good intentions when a young bride receives the wrong mail order package â€" a package containing some very naughty products. Karen Sweet takes on the role of the young bride while Brian Young plays the groom who fears the repercussions that will result if the damagâ€" ing materials are discovered. The couple try their best to keep the pleasure packâ€" age a secret, but their best intentions soon go awry. "Audiences _ definitely shouldn‘t miss this lively British romp," said Drayton Entertainment artistic direcâ€" tor Alex Mustakas. "There‘s lots of fun and surprises. Expect the unexpected and you won‘t be disappointed." Mustakas‘ feelings about the play could also be used to describe the ongoing sucâ€" cess of the Drayton theatre itself. In fact, with just over six weeks left in the season, the theatre has already sold 99 per cent of the tickets that were purchased all of last year. "The theatre is doing really well," said Drayton‘s director _ of _ marketing and _ development, _ Nei! By SEan Mever For the Chronicle 741â€"0770 Aitchison. "Drayton has a special record where every year has been bigger than the last. This year is no difâ€" ferent." At Drayton Festival Theatre, (from left) Allison Marcaccini, Brian Young and Caroline Saulez perform in the hilarious production "No Sex Please, We‘re British". It‘s easy to see the growth of the Drayton theatre when one compares ticket sales today to the levels of 11 years ARTS FOCUS ago when the doors first opened. 2 â€" In 1991, Aitchison said, some 14,500 tickets were sold for the season. As of last week, thete was over 48,000 sold. "There‘s still the rest of August and September to go. HRONMCH 1 think it‘s going to be a realâ€" ly great year," Aitchison said. "It just continues to reinâ€" force that if you sell a profesâ€" sional product at a reasonâ€" able price... the people will come out." Aitchison attributes the theatre‘s success to two key areas, Mustakas and a comâ€" mitment to customer serâ€" vice. "Alex is a unique thing in the _ arts _ community," Aitchison said. "He always says half of show business is business and that‘s how things are run. He also insists on good customer service and that is someâ€" thing we have tried to focus on." One special area of cusâ€" tomer service can be found in the theatre‘s computer system. By simply typing in someone‘s name {assuming they have attended the theâ€" atre in the past), their perâ€" sonal history at Drayton can be accessed. Knowing where a person prefers to sit and even what time of year they like to come to the theatre are just two things Aitchison said are used to assist people in making their ticket purâ€" chases. As the increasing ticket sales will attest, that level of commitment to customers is something Drayton theâ€" atreâ€"goers have come to greatly appreciate over the years. __ "We try to be just a little bit better than people expect us to be," Aitchison said. "It‘s Continued on page 15 The Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Symphony volunteer committee will host its Palate Sensations fundraising gala, Sept. 7 from 4:30â€"8:30 p.m. at the Kitchener City Hall Rotunda. The eighth annual Taste of Waterloo County fundraising event is sure to be an enjoyable drink and food tasting experience for family, friends and neighâ€" bors. Twentyâ€"five of the region‘s finest chefs will be cooking up a storm offering their best recipes for parâ€" ticipants to taste and savour. o_ Besides the great food samplings, there will be wine and beer samplings, door prizes, music, clowns, face painting and raffle tickets on sale for a chance to win fabulous prizes. This is an opportunity for participants to sample delicacies from restaurants they have not yet had a chance to visit. _ All };megds will be donated to the Kitchenerâ€" Waterioo Symphony. _ s Parking is also available in the Kitchener City Hall parking garage. 0 _0 _ Admission is $2 (children under 12 admitted free}. Menu items are priced separately from $1â€"4. For tickâ€" et and other information, call Ana at 742â€"4883 or Barbara at 651â€"3107. The Blyth Festival celebrates in August with two Bonanza weekends. This annual event allows patrons to attend four different plays over three days. Associate artistic director Eric Coates outlines the theatre‘s goals of this annual event. "Unlike tradiâ€" tional summer stock companies, we run a repertory season which requires an enormous amount of organization. But it also lets people plan their visit here as a oneâ€"stopâ€"shopping event." This is particularly valuable to theatre companies from other regions which can scout scripts for future productions, according to Coates. This season the festival is expecting visiting professionals from Montreal to Japan. But the pri_mary hope is to encourage patrons within a day‘s drive to spend a single weekend and see the company‘s entire body of work this season. Professionals and casual theatre goers alike can also enjoy the chance to see Sunday matinees, a relâ€" atively new feature of Blyth‘s schedule. _ â€" The next Bonanza Weekend takes place Aug. 24â€"26. Taste of Waterloo event aids Kâ€"W Symphony Blyth Festival hosts bonanza weekend