Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino presents "Canada at Your Doorstep" the 2018 - 2019 Factory Season; six provocative works that challenge and interrogate popular narratives of Canadian identity.
THE MEN IN WHITE
Written by Anosh Irani, Directed by Philip Akin
WE KEEP COMING BACK
Created by Michael Rubenfeld and Sarah Garton Stanley with Mary Berchard and Katka Reszke, Directed by Sarah Garton Stanley
THE TASHME PROJECT: THE LIVING ARCHIVES
Created and Performed by Julie Tamiko Manning and Matt Miwa, with Direction by Mike Payette
BEARS
Written and Directed by Matthew MacKenzie
ANGÉLIQUE
Written by Lorena Gale, Directed by Mike Payette
BEAUTIFUL MAN
Written by Erin Shields, Directed by Andrea Donaldson
This season Factory features uncompromising Canadian stories, from Vancouver to Montreal and beyond, and the launch of a new national presentation series, CrossCurrents Canada.
"For Factory's 2018 - 2019 season we examine real and imagined histories from across the country. This year we'll explore how intimate stories can have a monumental impact on society; and how narratives of the past are the road maps to the future" explains Artistic Director
Nina Lee Aquino. "We're bringing groundbreaking work by some of the brightest voices in Canadian theatre to our house with the launch of CrossCurrents Canada an exciting series of presentations from visionary theatre companies across the country."
For its debut season, CrossCurrents Canada will present four plays from across the country, each examining new perspectives on the vexing question of what it means to be Canadian right here, right now. Reimagined from the former national playwrights festival, this new edition of CrossCurrents Canada will cement Factory as the Toronto home for explosive new work from the best intercultural artists across the country.
Factory's 2018 - 2019 season begins with the return of award-winning author Anosh Irani (Bombay Black) and the Toronto premiere of his latest play, The Men in White, directed by
Philip Akin.
A Vancouver cricket team tries to end its losing streak by importing a talented "all-rounder" from India. The only problem is that he is a professional chicken cutter from the wrong side of town - a fact not lost on some of his teammates, let alone the immigration authorities. Alternating between the Dongri neighbourhood of Mumbai, and a Vancouver locker room, this touching and funny story follows a group of unforgettable characters as they discover the strength and limitations of a sport that can unite people from across continents. Featuring a cast of eight South Asian Canadian performers, The Men in White is a heart-warming tale of life, love, and how to hit a googly!
CrossCurrents Canada presentations begin with We Keep Coming Back, co-created by Michael Rubenfeld and Sarah Garton Stanley with Mary Berchard and Katka Reszke, directed by Sarah Garton Stanley.
We Keep Coming Back is a (mostly) true story of a pilgrimage from Canada to Poland by real-life mother and son, Mary Berchard and Michael Rubenfeld, both descendants of Holocaust survivors. Hoping to heal their fractious relationship by connecting with the past, mother and son return to the land of their ancestry. Using documentary storytelling, archival video and projection design, We Keep Coming Back is a complex, soul-baring, and often humorous investigation into generational trauma, displacement, and the destruction of cultural identity. By unravelling their past, space is being created for a possible future.
Factory starts the new year with the second CrossCurrents presentation, the Toronto premiere of The Tashme Project: The Living Archives. Created and performed by Julie Tamiko Manning and Matt Miwa, with direction by Mike Payette.
Created from extensive interviews with over 30 Nisei, second generation Japanese Canadians, who were children during World War II and subjected to Canada's strict internment laws, The Tashme Project: The Living Archives traces their childhood, confinement, and post-WWII resettlement east of the Rockies. Highlighting the unexpected moments of joy and wonder, a stark contrast to the well-known narrative of hardship and injustice of a segregated life, The Tashme Project: The Living Archives is a tribute to Nisei character, language, spirit and story.
After a highly-successful world premiere at The Theatre Centre last January, followed by a cross-country tour, Bears, written and directed by Matthew MacKenzie and featuring Sheldon Elter with a chorus of contemporary dancers choreographed by
Monica Dottor, returns to Toronto for CrossCurrents Canada.
Floyd, a Métis oil patch worker is on the lam in the Western Canadian wilderness. The RCMP are chasing Floyd, as are Kinder Morgan's private bounty hunters, as he flees from a workplace accident. Making his way through the Rockies for British Columbia, Floyd is assisted by the flora and fauna in evading the authorities. Along his journey, Floyd undergoes a metaphysical transformation, not unlike the playwright's own when he discovered his Indigenous ancestry, a family secret hidden for generations.
In the spring, the final CrossCurrents Canada presentation is the Toronto premiere of Angélique, based on a true story written by Lorena Gale and directed by Mike Payette, and featuring a live score performed by Sixtrum Percussion Ensemble.
Marie Joseph Angélique, an enslaved Black woman, was accused, tried and hanged for setting fire to Montréal in 1734. The late Lorena Gale's award-winning 1998 classic play draws a line from Canada's often ignored history of slavery to contemporary struggles with systemic racism and oppression. Inspired by historical transcripts from the infamous trial, Angélique is a moving account of Black Canadian history beyond the Underground Railroad.
Factory's 2018 - 2019 production season concludes with the Toronto premiere of Beautiful Man, a searing satire written by Erin Shields (If We Were Birds), to be directed by Andrea Donaldson.
A scathing and delicious critique of contemporary portrayals of violence against women, and their relentless objectification, Beautiful Man presents a gender-flip where women and their sexual fantasies take centre stage and the men are hunted, victimized, and objectified. Darkly hilarious and insightful, a trio of women call out misogyny, sexism, and abuse of power all the while gazing at the semi-nude Beautiful Man present on stage the entire show.
"Six exceptional shows all in one place, coming from creators that showcase the full spectrum of contemporary Canada. We're inviting all of you to hit the road with us and explore the stops along the way on this journey forward. This is Factory 2018 - 2019 Canada at Your Doorstep."
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