FACTORY Announces 2017-2018 Season “SHAPING STORIES”

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FACTORY Announces 2017-2018 Season “SHAPING STORIES”
Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino is proud to announce the Factory 2017-2018 Season. The highly successful and critically acclaimed Naked Season of 2015-2016 challenged Canadian classics by zeroing in on their core theatrical essence; 2016-2017’s Beyond the Great White North Season featured intercultural perspectives on what it means to be Canadian and spawned an artist-led social media movement; the third season under Nina’s visionary artistic leadership builds on the successes of the past two seasons with a selection of plays that contemplate the different ways stories are told.

The Factory 2017-2018 Season offers six shows that include Indian dance, pianos as characters, a cutting black comedy, a magical suicide mystery, an affecting war drama, and a Filipino farce. Presenting the Factory 2017-2018 Season:

  • The Fish Eyes Trilogy written by Anita Majumdar
  • trace written by Jeff Ho
  • BANG BANG written by Kat Sandler
  • After Wrestling written by Bryce Hodgson and Charlie Kerr
  • The Monument written by Colleen Wagner
  • Prairie Nurse written by Marie Beath Badian

“At Factory, we have been exploring the idea of Canada by questioning what makes something a Canadian classic, and how our shifting population is changing Canadian identity. This season I’m excited to present a collection of work that takes a fresh look at how we tell these stories,” explained Artistic Director Nina Lee Aquino. “This season includes work that will playfully challenge traditional theatrical conventions, expand the concept of storytelling, and confront audiences with complex and sometimes dangerous questions.”

The season launches with Anita Majumdar’s audacious trio of dance-plays, Fish Eyes, Boys with Cars, Let Me Borrow That Top. Anita will reprise her Dora Award-winning tour-de-force solo performance which includes traditional and contemporary Indian dance. The Fish Eyes Trilogy tells the coming-of-age stories of three teenage girls with all the joy and awkwardness of youth while slyly tackling colonialism and cultural identity through dance, bullying and teenage heartache.

trace, a world premiere (and playwriting debut) from Factory Artistic Associate Jeff Ho (Ophelia, Prince Hamlet/Why Not Theatre) is a one-man-two-piano-play with original music also composed by Jeff. A convergence of theatrical and symphonic storytelling, trace takes on the structure of a piano sonata to tell a very personal story of family and genealogy.

BANG BANG is a Factory commissioned world premiere from Dora Award-winning playwright Kat Sandler (Mustard), a member of Factory’s Natural Resources Creation Unit. A white man writing a film based on his hit play inspired by the shooting of an unarmed Black youth makes a surprise visit to the home of the officer involved. BANG BANG adds an extra dimension to meta-theatre in this satirical dramedy that traces the impact of what it means to be inspired by true events.

The Storefront Theatre returns to Factory with After Wrestling, a cynical, comedy suicide mystery from the creators of Kill Your Parents in Viking Alberta, Bryce Hodgson and Charlie Kerr (Blood Pact Theatre in Vancouver). What begins as a traditional slacker comedy turns into a drug-fueled, magic realism debate on love, life and the after-death. This three-way world premiere co-production furthers Factory’s desire to support indie artists while establishing cross-Canada creative partnerships.

Factory’s reimagining of Canadian classics continues with Colleen Wagner’s powerful and dark war drama, The Monument. Timeless, epic and poetic, the 1996 Governor-General’s Award-winning play is a searing exploration of morality, justice, the inhumanity of war and the potential for reconciliation, or lack thereof. Transcending time and place, The Monument asks the same questions Canada as a country is grappling with today.

The 2017-18 Season concludes with a farce of a different colour: the Toronto premiere of Marie Beath Badian’s Prairie Nurse, co-produced with Thousand Islands Playhouse. Set in 1967 Arborfield, Saskatchewan, this manic comedy unravels as two Filipino nurses arrive to work at a rural hospital. This fictional play about curious locals, sweet romance, and mistaken identity was inspired by the playwright’s mother and the legacy she and others with similar experiences contributed to the fabric of Canada.

“This season is a showcase of work created and helmed by artists familiar and new; from here and beyond Toronto; created through partnerships with exciting Canadian companies; featuring a slice of Canada’s best theatrical work; and furthering the connection between audience, space, imagination, and text,” concluded Nina.

FACTORY presents
The 2017-2018 Season
“SHAPING STORIES”

The Fish Eyes Trilogy
Witten by Anita Majumdar
A Nightswimming Theatre production presented by Factory
September 26 – October 15, Opens September 28, 2017
Mainspace

trace
Written by Jeff Ho
A Factory production in association with b current performing arts
November 11 – December 3, Opens November 16, 2017
World Premiere
Studio

BANG BANG
Written by Kat Sandler
A Factory production
January 27 – February 18, Opens February 1, 2018
A Factory Commissioned World Premiere
Mainspace

After Wrestling
Written by Bryce Hodgson and Charlie Kerr
A Storefront Theatre & Blood Pact Theatre production in association with Factory
February 24 – March 18, Opens March 1, 2018
World Premiere
Studio

The Monument
Written by Colleen Wagner
A Factory production
March 10 – April 1, Opens March 15, 2018
Mainspace

Prairie Nurse
Written by Marie Beath Badian
A Factory and Thousand Islands Playhouse production
April 21 – May 13, Opens April 26, 2018
Toronto Premiere
Mainspace

Play Passes Available Today From 1pm!
Prices range from $39 for a 3-Play Preview Pass to $180 for an anytime 6-Play Pass
Purchase Play Passes:
Online: www.factorytheatre.ca/2017-18-season
Phone: 416.504.9971
Box Office: 125 Bathurst Street (at Adelaide)

Single Tickets go on sale Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Single tickets start at just $20 for previews and range from $30-$50 for regular performances
Student, Arts Worker and Senior prices also available

For More Info and to Connect with Factory:
factorytheatre.ca • Twitter: @FactoryToronto
Facebook: @FactoryTheatreTOSupport Us!

Factory would like to thank the government funding bodies, Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Arts Council, and the Toronto Arts Council, as well as our generous individual donors who make developing, producing, and presenting Canadian theatre possible.

Founded in 1970, Factory was the first theatre company in the nation to devote itself to producing 100% Canadian content. 47 years later, Factory continues to lead in the development and sharing of Canadian stories having produced more than 300 productions from a diverse source of Canadian playwrights and launching the careers of countless theatre professionals.

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