YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE at Factory theatre

Factory is continuing its innovative 20/21 season, with the world premiere of YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE, a brand new collection of audio theatrical dramas all set in and around Toronto's many neighbourhoods and familiar landmarks. This extraordinary series features five commissioned works by Canadian Playwrights Anusree Roy, Matthew MacKenzie, Yvette Nolan, Keith Barker, and Luke Reece. YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE will be released weekly as a pre-recorded podcast over the course of five weeks beginning MARCH 25, 2021 and ending APRIL 22, 2021, and thanks to the generous support of the TD Bank Group, each episode will be available online for free everywhere podcasts are available including: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts.

YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE offers listeners fresh perspectives on familiar Toronto landmarks and neighbourhoods and glimpses into the micro-dramas occurring each day around us, hidden in plain sight. Each episode offers a new, self-contained story and a vivid audio experience from five playwrights and the series features the vocal acting talents of over 20 of Canada's leading performers. Audiences can choose to listen from the comforts of their own homes, or take a journey across the city - either way, they are sure to see the land on which we live and work anew.

The series features five outstanding new works including Sisters, by Anusree Roy and directed by Nina Lee Aquino, a gripping and moving story that shines an honest light on contemporary immigrant experiences and brings into focus that people living and just getting by in the city are more alike than they first appear; First Métis Man of Odessa by Matthew MacKenzie and directed by Nina Lee Aquino, a hilarious contemporary love story set against the backdrop of a global pandemic; You Can't Get There From Here by Yvette Nolan and directed by Cole Alvis, delves into how cities shapeshift over time and what happens when we don't change with them; Every Minute of Every Day by award winning playwright Keith Barker and directed by Akosua Amo-Adem, explores how and why landmarks evoke powerful memories, and what happens to those memories in a city with a landscape constantly changing ; and The Toronto Pigeons, by Luke Reece and directed by Marcel Stewart, an electrifying spoken word, sky-high exploration of how and why The Toronto Raptors's 2019 NBA Championship win catalyzed a feeling of belonging in a city renowned for its icy exterior.


YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE Line up:

Sisters
By Anusree Roy

Directed by Nina Lee Aquino

Sound Design by Debashis Sinha

Featuring: Ryan Hollyman, Gabriella Sundar Singh, and Mirabella Sundar Singh

Release Date: Thursday MARCH 25, 2021


Inspired by a true story, Sisters from award-winning writer Anusree Roy, follows Millie and Rai, who have recently immigrated to Toronto from India with their father. Set over the course of one evening at Tatos Laundromat in New Toronto, the sisters fantasize about: what they will order at Tim Hortons, getting a cell phone, and how exciting their new life will be - as soon as their dad lands his first job. Their daydreaming is cut short when an event occurs at the laundromat, threatening not only their sense of security, but their ability to withhold secrets from each other.

A gripping and moving story, Sisters shines an honest light on contemporary immigrant experiences and brings into focus that people living and just getting by in the city are more alike than they first appear.

First Métis Man of Odessa
By Matthew MacKenzie

Directed by Nina Lee Aquino
Sound Design by Michelle Bensimon

Featuring: Christine Horne and Craig Lauzon

Release Date: Thursday APRIL 1, 2021

Set in Toronto; Odessa, Ukraine; and the liminal spaces between, Matthew MacKenzie's First Métis Man of Odessa is a contemporary love story set against the backdrop of a global pandemic.

No sooner do lovers Matt and Masha part ways for a short time last MARCH, than COVID-19 shutters borders, keeping the new couple apart. Masha can't get to Matt; Matt can't get to Masha; and to make matters more complicated, Masha learns she is pregnant. Determined to get to Ukraine to marry the woman he loves and get her to Canada prior to the birth of their son, Matt sets out on an unlikely and hilarious journey to transcend borders - and ends up paying for a klezmer band for several other wedding parties in the process.

Based on true events and alternating between Matt and Masha's perspectives, First Métis Man of Odessa is a captivating romantic comedy sure to warm even the most COVID-fatigued hearts.

You Can't Get There From Here
By Yvette Nolan

Directed by Cole Alvis
Sound Design by Debashis Sinha

Featuring Nicole Joy-Fraser, Derek Kwan, and Meghan Swaby

Release Date: Thursday APRIL 8, 2021

Hanna has been the target of online protests and persecution and no one has heard from her in days. Worried for her well-being, two friends show up at her apartment to discover her all packed, ready to get outta dodge. Leah and David attempt to persuade Hanna to stay and fight, to continue living in the city as it changes before their very eyes.

From award-winning playwright, Yvette Nolan, You Can't Get There From Here delves into how cities shapeshift over time and what happens when we don't change with it.

Every Minute Of Everyday
By Keith Barker

Directed by Akosua Amo-Adem

Sound Design by Michelle Bensimon

Featuring Allison Edwards-Crewe and Marcia Johnson

Release Date: Thursday APRIL 15, 2021

Mia and Fran haven't seen each other in years - too long for sisters to go without talking. When Fran visits Toronto to reconcile with her sister, the two decide to go on a journey down memory lane - revisiting iconic Toronto locations that hold treasured memories. But not everything between the sisters is what it seems.

This striking new take on the "memory play" from award-winning playwright Keith Barker, explores why we hold on to memories and how they diverge in a city with a landscape that is constantly being erased and rebuilt. Every Minute of Every Day is sure to make you see how people share and shape memories differently and how time itself can even make you forget why family ruptures happen in the first place.

The Toronto Pigeons
By Luke Reece

Directed by Marcel Stewart

Sound Design by Michelle Bensimon

Featuring Britta B., Trevlyn Kennedy, and Luke Reece

Release Date: Thursday APRIL 22, 2021

It's JUNE 13, 2019, and The Toronto Raptors are three hours away from their Game 6 tipoff with the Golden State Warriors. Two pigeons, Trae and A.C., are settling in above Jurassic Park in Toronto to watch the game when, all of a sudden, their excitement is interrupted by a kestrel named Klaw who crash lands on their perfect pigeon perch. Having never been to Toronto, Trae and A.C. begin to give Klaw all their insider knowledge about the city - the good, the bad, and the feathery.

A fun electrifying mash-up of soundscape and spoken word (or is it spoken bird?), The Toronto Pigeons is an all-verse, sky-high exploration from National Slam Poet Champion Luke Reece, of how and why The Toronto Raptors 2019 Championship win catalyzed a feeling of belonging in a city renowned for its icy exterior.