Iqaluit (Dec 06/04) - Iqaluit's newest theatre company has given itself a name in time for its third production. The Part-time Players will perform Canadian playwright Morris Panych's play The Ends of the Earth beginning Dec. 10.

"It's about two guys," said Tony Rose, the play's co-director.

"One's a loveable loser, the other's been dealt a nasty hand in life. They notice each other at a bus stop, then spend the rest of the play trying to get away from each other."

They flee to a house that teeters on the edge of a cliff, literally the ends of the earth.

Panych recently won the Governor General's Literary Award for drama for another of his plays, Girl in the Goldfish Bowl. He is known for his dark, absurdist comedies.

Rose and co-director Odile Nelson held auditions for the production in Iqaluit in September.

"It's a surprisingly deep talent pool," said Rose.

"Odile and I had some really difficult choices to make."

Greg Younger-Lewis plays loveable loser Frank Gardner and Kakee Peter plays Henry Walker, the character who's been dealt the nasty hand.

The choice of play was an easier one to make.

"Odile had a few in mind," he said. "We decided that The Ends of the Earth was the most interesting and demanding."

Rose had done some directing before during his university years, but said this production was very challenging. The play has around 200 sound and lighting cues.

"Sure there have been times that we've cursed the choice, but it's also incredibly rewarding to go through this process," he said.

In May, the Part-time Players did Everybody's Got to be Someplace -- a collection of seven short plays -- and in June they presented AlterNatives by Drew Hayden Taylor.

Their three productions have been performed in three different locations. This time they'll be in the grand salle of Ecole des Trois-Soleils. But Rose said the players prefer the smaller locations around town than the larger school auditoriums because of the more intimate atmosphere.