Calpurnia

2022-04-27 19:30 2022-05-07 21:30 60 Canada/Eastern 🎟 NAC: Calpurnia

https://nac-cna.ca/en/event/25457

In-person event

An NAC English Theatre/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg)/Black Theatre Workshop (Montreal) Co-production An explosive new comedy, confronting the classic To Kill a Mockingbird. Up-and-coming screenwriter Julie sees herself as a tireless warrior for the marginalized. From the safe confines of her wealthy father’s Forest Hill home, she undertakes to rewrite one of the most beloved novels of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird, from the perspective of the Finch family’s Black maid,...

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Babs Asper Theatre,1 Elgin Street,Ottawa,Canada
Apr 27 - May 7, 2022
This event has passed
Theatre Drama Comedy Canadian
“Don’t miss it.” NOW Toronto
  • In-person event
  • English
  • ≈ 2 hours 10 minutes · With intermission
  • Mature themes
  • Strong language
  • Haze

An NAC English Theatre/Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (Winnipeg)/Black Theatre Workshop (Montreal) Co-production

An explosive new comedy, confronting the classic To Kill a Mockingbird.

Up-and-coming screenwriter Julie sees herself as a tireless warrior for the marginalized. From the safe confines of her wealthy father’s Forest Hill home, she undertakes to rewrite one of the most beloved novels of all time, To Kill a Mockingbird, from the perspective of the Finch family’s Black maid, Calpurnia. Julie aims to show that white novelist Harper Lee could not possibly capture the character of a Black woman living under the weight of servitude. Yet simmering under the surface of Julie’s mission is a glaring hypocrisy of which she is blithely unaware.

Calpurnia is a hilarious and highly-charged look at the knots and tangles of intersectionality and allyship, exposing motives and feelings that are clear as a bell one moment, and drowning in ambiguity the next.

Proving beyond doubt that no one is perfectly right and no one is perfectly wrong, Calpurnia leaves us gobsmacked in the best possible way.

Event advisory: mature themes, strong language, non-toxic theatrical smoke and haze effects. 
 

Storytelling the Justice System

This video panel conversation brings together theatre-makers whose work examines systems of justice. Moderated by Calpurnia Assistant Director Nikki Shaffeeullah, and featuring Cole Alvis, and Kim Senklip Harvey and Calpurnia playwright Audrey Dwyer, the four reflect on the ways in which art can shape, uphold, and subvert narratives about the justice system, and the ways in which performance can help imagine alternative understandings of harm, accountability, and repair.  

Artists

  • audrey-dwyer-web
    Playwright Audrey Dwyer
  • Director/Dramaturg Sarah Garton Stanley (SGS)
  • Mark Gordon Kwaku Adu-Poku
  • Christine Charter Ellie Ellwand
  • Precy Cabigting Rochelle Kives
  • James Thompson Arne MacPherson
  • Julie Gordon Emerjade Simms
  • Lawrence Gordon Ray Strachan
  • rachel-forbes-credit-eugen-sakhnenko
    Set Designer Rachel Forbes
  • joseph-abetria-web
    Costume Designer Joseph Abetria
  • hugh-conacher-web
    Lighting Designer Hugh Conacher
  • chris-coyne-web
    Sound Designer Chris Coyne
  • Cultural Consultant Hazel Venzon
  • Assistant Director Nikki Shaffeeullah
  • shauna-jones-web
    Assistant Designer Shauna Jones
  • Stage Manager Michael Duggan
  • Assistant Stage Manager Zahra Larche
  • By Audrey Dwyer
  • Directed by Sarah Garton Stanley
  • Featuring Kwaku Adu-Poku, Ellie Ellwand, Rochelle Kives, Arne MacPherson, Emerjade Simms, Ray Strachan
  • Set Designer Rachel Forbes
  • Costume Designer Joseph Abetria
  • Lighting Designer Hugh Conacher
  • Sound Designer Chris Coyne
  • Cultural Consultant Hazel Venzon
  • Assistant Director Nikki Shaffeeullah
  • Assistant Designer Shauna Jones
  • Stage Manager Michael Duggan
  • Assistant Stage Manager Zahra Larche