FAT HAM Comes to Canadian Stage Next Month

In February, Canadian Stage will present the 2022 Pulitzer Prize winner for Drama, James Ijames’ FAT HAM.  On stage February 15 – March 9 at the Berkeley Street Theatre. (Media night: February 19)
 
Helmed by celebrated Canadian director Philip Akin – who directed last season’s hit production of THE LEHMAN TRILOGY – FAT HAM features an exemplary cast led by beloved actor Peter Fernandes as Juicy with David Alan Anderson, Raven Dauda, Nehassaiu deGannes, Virgilia Griffith, Tawiah M’Carthy, and Tony Ofori. 
 
A thrilling and hilarious remake of Shakespeare’s HAMLET set against the backdrop of the American South, in FAT HAM, Juicy must throw a cookout to celebrate his mother’s remarriage to his late father’s brother after receiving a ghostly visit from his recently deceased father. Striking an eerie resemblance to that classic tale, Juicy – a young, queer Black man - must grapple with familial tensions, a quest for justice, and his own identity as he determines his next move. However, faced with the same questions as Hamlet, Juicy ultimately finds different answers.
 
“This season we have been exploring new artistic approaches to classical texts in many productions, including our Dream in High Park production of HAMLET last year,” comments Canadian Stage Artistic Director Brendan Healy.  “Whereas the summer production was reasonably faithful to the text, Ijames’ play takes a radical and intentional turn from the Hamlet premise, to offer a vicious yet wildly funny critique of masculinity and cycles of male violence. With Philip directing and this exceptional cast led by Peter Fernandes - who has been steadily assuring himself as one of the most gifted actors on Canadian stages right now – this is going to be a fantastically entertaining evening of theatre.”
 
FAT HAM first premiered in April 2021 in a filmed production for the Wilma Theater in Philadelphia, then making its off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater in May of 2022 to overwhelmingly positive reviews. And winning the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Public Theater production transferred to Broadway in March of 2023, again met with widespread critical acclaim and five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play and Best Director of a Play. The play then won the Outer Critics Circle Award for New American Play in 2023 and a Lambda Literary Award in 2024.
 
A defining playwright in American theater, James Ijames’ works have been produced across the US to critical acclaim. Writing plays since age 14, Ijames first rose to prominence in the Philadelphia performing arts scene in 2011 when he was named the recipient of the F. Otto Haas Award, given to an emerging theater artist. Since that time, the list of distinctions and prizes has been long and extensive, including four Barrymore Awards, two each for acting and directing; a 2019 Kesselring Prize for his play Kill Move Paradise the 2015 Pew Fellowship for Playwriting; and the 2015 Terrence McNally New Play Award for the witty and provocative White. Ijames’ plays dissect race, gender and class differences in American society with wit and humour that keeps audiences engaged. 
 
Joining Akin on the creative team for this production are set designer Brandon Kleiman, Costume Designer Ming Wong, lighting designer Andre du Toit, sound designer Jacob Lin, projection designer Laura Warren, and fight director Anita Nittoly.
 

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