COLDAX Festival Line-up
9 PLAYS – 4 DAYS – FREE!
COME HEAR WHAT THE WORLD THINKS!
Homebody/Kabul
by Tony Kushner (USA)
Thursday May 26, 7:00 PM
directed by Eda Holmes, with Deborah Lambie, Liza Balkan, Michael Spencer Davis, Alex Poch-Goldin, Gord Rand, Severn Thompson, Sanjay Talwar
A sharp portrait of an eccentric British housewife and her mysterious obsession with Afghanistan. Set in London and Kabul in the late 90s, Homebody/Kabul is a compelling journey into a world at odds with itself where in the quest for the truth and closure, the lines between real and unreal, the political and the personal are intentionally blurred and are fully ambiguous.
The Pyramids
by Judith Thompson (Canada)
Friday May 27, 7:00 PM
directed by Ross Manson, with Waneta Storms
A speculative fantasia on how a young woman from Fort Ashby, Virginia finds her way into the most infamous military prison in the world – with a smile on her face, and a dog leash in her hand. From internationally acclaimed playwright Judith Thompson.
Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America
by Stephen Sewell (Australia)
Friday May 27, 9:00 PM
directed by Ken Gass, with Irene Poole, Richard Zeppieri, Caroline Gillis
A university professor’s dinner party remarks about American imperialism land him in hot water with the administration, and straight into the land of Kafka. A modern day morality tale from Australia that has become the most highly awarded play in that country’s history.
Back of the Throat
by Yussef El Guindi (Egypt/USA)
Saturday May 28, 2:30 PM
directed by Jason Sherman, with Ron Lea, Vik Sahay, Nigel Shawn Williams, Jane Spidell, Sanjay Talwar
Two tough-talking intelligence agents turn an Arab-American writer’s apartment — and life — upside down after receiving a tip that he’s involved in a terrorist plot. Then again, maybe his girlfriend’s just upset that he went to a strip club … A brilliantly funny new play by Egyptian-American playwright and poet Yussef El Guindi.
Yellowman
by Dael Orlandersmith (USA)
Saturday May 28, 5:00 PM
directed by Weyni Mengesha, with Garnet Harding, Ordena Stephens
This explosive drama is narrated by two innocent childhood friends and soul mates – Alma, a dark-skinned woman, and Eugene, a light-skinned “yellow” man who grow up together. As the pair gets older, their vivid, intertwined memories expose a world where skin colour determines desirability, and where the sins of the parents are carried on by their children. Against a backdrop of steamy, oppressive Southern heat, Alma and Eugene learn about themselves, the power of love, and struggle against the seduction of hate and heredity, in a society where nothing is as insurmountable as the colour of your skin.
Pugilist Specialist
by Adriano Shaplin (USA)
Saturday May 28, 8:00 PM
directed by Ross Manson, with David Collins, Audrey Dwyer, Gray Powell
Four highly trained U.S. soldiers are assigned the task of eliminating a Middle Eastern leader. Pugilist Specialist is a psychological thriller that unfolds in a series of field recordings, detailing the planning, execution and mishandling of a modern political assassination. Utilizing an array of literary influences from Moby Dick to the Marine Corps Manual, Pugilist Specialist dissects the American military’s hunt for evil in foreign lands. Written by Adriano Shaplin, one of the hottest young voices of American theatre.
The Murder of Isaac
by Motti Lerner (Israel)
Sunday May 29, 2:30 PM
directed by Chris Abraham, with Hrant Alianak, Colombe Demers, Frank Moore, Anne Page, Jordan Pettle, Alex Poch-Goldin, Aaron Tager, RH Thomson
The patients at an Israeli Army rehabilitation centre, all of them suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, put on a play, with music, about the assassination of Yitzak Rabin. Think of it as a Middle East Marat/Sade. From the sharp pen of Israeli playwright Motti Lerner.
The Arab-Israeli Cookbook
by Robin Soans (England)
Sunday May 29, 5:30 PM
directed by Joel Greenberg, with Leslie Dowey, Deb Drakeford, Joel Greenberg, Mark McGrinder, Jeff Miller, Kimwun Perehinec, Dylan Roberts
British playwright Robin Soans spent three weeks touring Israel and the Occupied Territories, interviewing people of every religious and political stripe, to come up with this collage of life in the Middle East. “Does a good deal to illuminate the hazards of living under the shadow of instant death.” – The Guardian. Presented by Studio 180 Theatre, which will produce the play in March 2006 at the Berkeley Street Theatre.
12 Angry Playwrights
(Canada)
Sunday May 29, 8:00 PM
directed by Kelly Thornton
A dozen Canadian playwrights each contribute a short, snappy scene to this chain-play that looks at the current national obsession (in the absence of NHL shinny): adscam. A sort of political La Ronde — only who’s getting screwed? By Morwyn Brebner, Lisa Codrington, Jonathan Garfinkel, Andrew Moodie, Greg Nelson, Yvette Nolan, Adam Pettle, Michael Redhill, Jason Sherman, Judith Thompson, Jean Yoon and David Young. (Read their bios.)
- 7 05 2005 - 10:55
