Theatre Passe Muraille Transforms Into A Library For The Multi-screen Installation MIRIAM'S WORLD

This December, Theatre Passe Muraille transforms into a public library for MIRIAM'S WORLD by Naomi Jaye. An interactive, multi-screen narrative experience, MIRIAM'S WORLD will take over the Passe Muraille Mainspace from December 9th to 18th. (Media night: December 10th)

Often funny and always strange, MIRIAM'S WORLD is based on Martha Baillie's Giller Prize long-listed novel The Incident Report, which was recognized for its strikingly original structure, comprising 140 fragments or "reports." Among many themes, The Incident Report explores the tensions between private and public spaces. A wry look into the life of librarian Miriam Gordon and a group of library patrons who frequent the branch where she works, MIRIAM'S WORLD exposes the dark, and often humorous side of urban life and the real-world issues of homelessness, mental illness, and suicide.

From filmmaker Naomi Jaye, whose debut feature The Pin, is Canada's only Yiddish-language narrative feature, MIRIAM'S WORLD is her first foray into expanded cinema and installation work. In the installation, paper 'bookshelf' scrolls and furniture create the virtual library and eight massive screens hang in a circle, creating a 360-degree film experience. Library patrons are projected onto each screen, the patrons talking to each other and walking from screen to screen. Meanwhile, the 'audience' become real patrons, as they rifle through the library desks finding strange notes and books left by other patrons, both virtual and real, as well as incident reports written by Miriam, and attempt to unravel the story.

"This installation and immersive experience feel like a true adaptation of The Incident Report by Martha Baillie. " says creator Naomi Jaye. "My aim with this work was to transform the abstract term library into a tangible world in which private lives are intertwined into a greater public choreography. I also hope that this show will foster conversations around public space and our responsibilities to displaced people in society. Libraries are increasingly taking on an additional role in cities, as centers of community service - perhaps we need to ask why."

Originally mounted in 2019 as her thesis piece, MIRIAM'S WORLD was the result of Jaye's Master of Fine Arts research into the architecture of narrative. Jaye's passion for the source material extends beyond this production, as her feature film adaptation of the book went to camera earlier this year, starring Britt Lower (Severance) and executive produced by Oscar-winner Charlie Kaufman.

MIRIAM'S WORLD features Pamela Palsat as Miriam alongside Isai Rivera Blas, Scott Clarkson, Pascale Couderc, Tarick Glancy, Adrian Griffin, Gloria Mampuya, Brian Rhodes, and Pete Smith as various patrons who frequent the library.

Running in tandem with MIRIAM'S WORLD, Theatre Passe Muraille and Tremendous Productions will also be hosting a number of free community events. The largest event in this series turns the TPM Backspace into a "Living Lending Library," made up of de-commissioned library books and donated books. The space will also feature a reading room to create a vibrant and interactive space where people can take books, leave books, read, and talk. Other highlights include a book club reading of The Incident Report, workshops, and a community discussion on how the pandemic has exposed and intensified the problems of our housing crisis. Running throughout the month of December, these events will take place both online and in-person, asking us to reflect on who the library belongs to and how we can create more public spaces for our community. More information about MIRIAM'S WORLD's free workshops and sign-up forms are available at passemuraille.ca/22-23-season/miriams-world/.

Performances of MIRIAM'S WORLD will run Wednesdays to Saturdays at 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM with 2:00 PM and 3:00 PM matinees on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are Pay-What-You-Can-Afford at three price points, $10, $30, and $60 and are available now online at passemuraille.ca.

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