The Pandemic Plays

Recipient: Laidlaw Grant 

Three love stories which defy the odds of survival. A trilogy of plays designed to be performed in repertory, using the same actors to play different characters.

2002
SUMMERWORKS, TORONTO (PLAY 2)
2001
DEVELOPED AS A RADIO SHORT PLAY THROUGH CBC'S NEW VOICES (PLAY 3)
1999
A STAGED READING AT THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE WITH SUPPORT FROM THE LAIDLAW FOUNDATION (PLAYS 1 AND 2)
*Script available at the Toronto Fringe Festival Play library

play 2
SHORTNESS OF BREATH

DIRECTED BY
Janet-Laine Green

ASST.DIRECTOR/STAGE MANAGER BY
Daniel Minsky

PERFORMED BY
Conrad Bergschneider, Greg Morris, Victoria Goring, Katherine Warren.

ORIGINAL MUSIC COMPOSED & PERFORMED BY
Archie Hughes

The future: Allergens have made it impossible for mankind to go outdoors, except in state-of-the-art suits which enable a courageous few to postpone the inevitable. Norman wakes into this poisoned world. Frustrated by the holes in his memory and desperate to cling to the brightness of his past, Norman, and this decaying civilization, desperately struggle to regain their breath.

play 3
ABSENCE OF WEIGHT

The present: A majority say they would prefer a good night's sleep over sex. Joy and Francis have become unmoored, unable to recapture the weight of their relationship. Joy becomes uncontrollably insomniac, while Francis is addicted to his slumbering world. They are finally brought back to each other when they connect their metaphorical dream world to their waking reality.

play 1
THE BURNING WOMAN

DIRECTED BY
Sanjay Talwar

ASST.DIRECTOR/STAGE MANAGER BY
Kimberly Radmacher

PERFORMED BY
Jason Charters & Victoria Goring

DRAMATURGY BY
Sanjay Talwar

During the flu pandemic of 1918-1919, over 25 million perished worldwide. An estranged brother and sister sort through the belongings of their recently deceased grandparents, uncovering a bittersweet love story The emotional impact of the flu pandemic echoes through the generations.