FACTORY Announces 2016-2017 SEASON

Following the strong success of the critically-acclaimed and multi-award winning NAKED season, Factory continues its commitment to producing 100% Canadian content with the announcement of the 2016-2017 season. Six distinctive productions; three world premieres, one Toronto premiere, and two return engagements, explore universal themes of family and identity from a broad range of cultural perspectives.

Factory Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino is proud to present the 2016-2017 Season:

• ACQUIESCE written by David Yee, directed by Nina Lee Aquino
• THE ENCHANTED LOOM written by Suvendrini Lena, directed by Marjorie Chan
• EMPIRE OF THE SON written by Tetsuro Shigematsu, directed by Richard Wolfe
• HOW BLACK MOTHERS SAY I LOVE YOU, written by Trey Anthony
• LITTLE PRETTY AND THE EXCEPTIONAL written by Anusree Roy, directed by BrenDan Healy
• BANANA BOYS written by Leon Aureus, adapted from the novel by Terry Woo, directed by Nina Lee Aquino

"The 2016/17 season is the culmination of everything we have strived for in recent years at Factory. A true celebration of Canada, featuring world premieres that promise to be the Canadian classics of the future, captivating re-imaginings of the existing Canadian cannon, and exciting presentations of work from across the country," announced Factory Artistic Director, Nina Lee Aquino.

The season opens with the world premiere of ACQUIESCE, the sharply comedic and heartbreakingly poignant play by fu-GEN Asian Canadian Theatre Company's Artistic Director David Yee, winner of the 2015 English-language Governor General's Award for Drama (carried away on the crest of a wave). Directed by Nina Lee Aquino, this co-production with fu-GEN is the powerful story of a young man who travels to Hong Kong for the first time to bury the father he barely knew.

Cahoots Theatre Company marks their 30th anniversary with the world premiere of THE ENCHANTED LOOM, produced in association with Factory. Written by neurologist and playwright Suvendrini Lena, and directed by Cahoots Artistic Director Marjorie Chan, this new play boldly exposes the devastating physical and mental effects of the Sri Lankan civil war on a Tamil family.

EMPIRE OF THE SON is "a riveting, emotional theatrical experience" (Vancouver Sun) that explores the challenging relationship between writer, performer and CBC radio host Tetsuro Shigematsu and his Japanese father. Directed by Richard Wolfe and nominated for six 2016 Jessie Awards, this one-man multidisciplinary show is about the struggle of a nomadic Japanese family and their intergenerational conflicts in which the father and son are connected by blood, but kept apart by the very things they have in common.

HOW BLACK MOTHERS SAY I LOVE YOU is Trey Anthony's ('da Kink in my Hair) most hilarious and thought provoking play yet. Daphne, a Caribbean mother, emigrated to Canada leaving two daughters behind in Jamaica for six years. The separation causes disastrous consequences for the entire family who are all searching for love, reconciliation and forgiveness. A tale of a mother, her daughters and their attempts to love each other in less than ideal circumstances,HOW BLACK MOTHERS SAY I LOVE YOU searches for ways to respond to what has been left unsaid.

Award-winning playwright Anusree Roy (Brothel #9) returns to Factory for the world premiere of LITTLE PRETTY AND THE EXCEPTIONAL. Directed by Dora-award winning BrenDan Healy, this joyous and deeply moving play follows an entrepreneurial family in Toronto's Little India as they cope with taboos around mental health issues in the South-Asian community, and the power of familial ties in the face of adversity.

Returning for an extended engagement to celebrate the start of Asian Heritage Month, BANANA BOYS, the wickedly funny smash hit of the 2015-2016 NAKED season, examines the lives of five young Asian-Canadian men who experience the deep challenges of being torn between culture, identity and feeling out of place in the world. Playwright Leon Aureus' adaption of the Terry Woo novel is directed by Nina Lee Aquino, who "gets great performances out of her [2016 Dora-nominated] cast and stages it in a really imaginative way" (Toronto Star).

Single Tickets go on sale Tuesday, September 6, 2016. Single tickets start at just $15 for previews and range from $25-$55 for regular performances.

For More Info and to Connect with Factory: factorytheatre.ca

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