NAC Foundation
The Azrieli Studio at the NAC was packed with people. They were there to see Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story, a new play by Hannah Moscovitch produced by Halifax’s 2b theatre. Hannah was gratified by the large audience but there was one man in attendance she was especially happy to see: her father.
“It was the first time my father saw the play about his grandparents,” Hannah says. “In the narrative, I quickly flip through history and bring us to the present day with my son’s birth. My dad gets to hear his grandfather and father in the show be proud of his accomplishments. After the performance, he told me he was proud of me.”
This was a huge moment in a young life that’s already been filled with big moments. Hannah grew up in Ottawa and attended French and English Theatre at the NAC. And now, in the past year, the playwright has had two plays, Old Stock as well as Infinity, presented on our stage.
“I feel like the NAC is a beacon for Canadian culture so it’s nice to be recognized and included there,” Hanna says. “You hope your work is adding to the national culture so to have it be included in Canada Scene means more than I can ever express.”
To be part of Canada Scene also had another benefit for Hannah and hundreds of other Canadian artists: the festival attracted presenters and talent scouts from across Canada and abroad. Old Stock is now booked around the world until the summer of 2019 and includes stops in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.
Hannah is grateful to the NAC for co-producing her play and giving new creation like Old Stock a chance to find an audience. “I’m aware that the NAC and their supporters are putting money into developing the arts across the country,” says Hannah. “You allow artists like me to have a second or third production of our work and that’s incredibly important in terms of us being able to stay in the arts,” she says.
