Points of View

In this Points of View, around the presentation of Crow’s Theatre and Talk is Free Theatre’s production of The Wedding Party, NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Jillian Keiley hosts a discussion with special guests, Lisa Levia, Catering Sales Manager for NAC Food & Beverage and Kraig-Paul Proulx, Wedding & Special Events Designer & Coordinator, about the challenges, changes and beautiful moments go into planning weddings and receptions. The Wedding Party ran in the NAC Theatre January 30 – February 9.

In this Points of View, around the holiday presentation of the Segal Centre For Performing Arts from Montreal’s The Hockey Sweater: A Musical, NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Jillian Keiley hosts a discussion with special guests, Author Roch Carrier on the history and creation of the story, leading to the musical, and a surprise visit from CSA Astronaut Robert Thirsk, who chats about reading the story in space. The Hockey Sweater: A Musical ran in the NAC Theatre December 5 - 23.

Mabel Hubbard Bell was a strong, self-assured woman – bright, passionate, and a complete original. Despite a near-fatal case of childhood scarlet fever that cost her the ability to hear, she learned to talk and lip-read in multiple languages. At 19, she married a young inventor named Alexander Graham Bell and became the most significant influence in his life. Silence is Mabel’s story, offering the unique perspective of a woman whose remarkable life was overshadowed by her famous husband. Deftly directed by former NAC English Theatre Artistic Director Peter Hinton, Silence recounts how Mabel communicated with the man who invented the most powerful communication tool ever conceived.

Based on the novel by Ottawa’s beloved Brian Doyle, Up to Low is the magical and mystical tale of a young boy’s journey to manhood. Twelve-year-old Tommy is on the road with his father and volatile family friend Frank, heading back to the cabin they haven’t visited since Tommy’s mother died. But Tommy also remembers Bridget, whose eyes are the deep green of the Gatineau Hills. Filled with deserted farms, smoky taverns and midnight rows upriver, Up to Low captures 1950s Ottawa Valley in a way that is both familiar and brand new. By Brian Doyle Adapted for the stage and directed by Janet Irwin

Centred around the cataclysmic 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami Carried Away on the Crest of a Wave illustrates how world events link us all together. From two brothers in Malaysia trying to save their house from sinking, a Canadian radio-show host angered by disaster-relief efforts, a grieving Japanese father, to a lonely woman in Utah baking a pie, the play explores humanity in times of disaster. Winner of the 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award for Drama and directed by Siminovitch Prize laureate Kim Collier, carried away on the crest of a wave shows that despite our differences, we are all connected through serendipity, loss and love. The stellar cast includes John Ng from CBC TV’s Kim’s Convenience, Zaib Shaikh, star of CBC TV’s Little Mosque on the Prairie, Adrienne Wong, a frequent director at the GCTC, Kayvon Khoshkam from NAC's productions of Twelfth Night and The December Man (L’homme de décembre) and Jenny Young from the NAC’s productions of Innocence Lost: A Play about Steven Truscott and The Penelopiad.

Celebrated theatre-maker Robert Lepage returns to the NAC with an autobiographical journey through his childhood in a Quebec just beginning to awaken to its own promise. Unable to memorize a poem he must recite, Lepage uses the “memory palace” technique, assigning stanzas to the familiar rooms of his childhood home. But re-opening the doors to each room reveals more inside than just the poem he put there. With stagecraft that will take your breath away, 887 recreates the world of a young boy growing up in 1960s Quebec.

It’s mid-rehearsal, and two actors playing Lauren and Larry deliver their lines. All is well until the real Larry wanders onstage. When the real Lauren – who, it seems, is also the playwright – leaps up from the audience, chaos ensues. Throw in some rogue spectators, a corrupt senator, lion dancers, ghostly ancestors, and a few firecrackers, and you have King of the Yees, an unapologetic and hilarious take on Chinese culture and tradition in North America. From stage to backstage to audience and back on stage again, this play within a play bulldozes the fourth wall in an epic joyride through Chinatown. A Gateway Theatre (Richmond, BC) production

Evgeni Onegin is a charismatic and bored bad boy who makes ruinous choices at every turn, leaving devastation in his wake. Based on Alexander Pushkin’s serial poem about unrequited love in 19th century Russia, this sweeping and romantic story for the ages gets a hip and acclaimed new theatrical treatment. With inventive choreography and a sharp, 21st century sensibility, Onegin is as fresh today as it was nearly two centuries ago. From the creators of Do You Want What I Have Got? A Craigslist Cantata, including a raucous and uplifting score by creators Veda Hille and Amiel Gladstone, this is the very definition of passion. Lubov! Produced by The Musical Stage Company (Toronto, ON) in collaboration with NAC English Theatre.

Incendiary Canadian playwright Brad Fraser (Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love) makes his long-awaited return to the NAC with Kill Me Now, a gritty black comedy leavened with profound humanity. Widower Jake Sturdy cares for his severely disabled teenage son Joey until unexpected news leads to an astonishing role reversal. Devastatingly funny and defiantly unsentimental, Kill Me Now finds hard truths and irreverent laughter in every limb, joint and thought in the hopelessly fragile human body. “Funny and brutal and honest. But it is also moving, deeply emotional, and ultimately harrowing.” STAGE REVIEW (LONDON, UK)

The ghosts of the Donnellys return to tell their side of things. A raucous, wall-of-sound rock opera, Vigilante tells the explosive true tale of a ruthless Irish immigrant family and an entire town bent on revenge. Based on the unsolved 1880 massacre of Ontario’s notorious Donnelly family, Vigilante is a stomping, swaggering and compulsively watchable story about frontier justice. This outlaw offspring of Sweeney Todd and The Threepenny Opera walks the razor’s edge – aggressively inventive, visually stunning and absolutely electrifying. Vigilante marks the return of Edmonton’s astonishing Catalyst Theatre (Nevermore), following major tours to London and New York. “I saw this piece twice: once in Fort McMurray, and again in Edmonton after Catalyst had returned from the off-Broadway run of their original production Nevermore. I loved both iterations but the steampunk style and pulsing fury of the music was deep in my bones by the second viewing. Now to see it again will satisfy a craving that I’ve had ever since.” – Jillian Keiley, Artistic director, NAC English Theatre “History — Canadian history! — doesn’t just rock, it comes at you with an aggressive and explosive energy in the thrilling new rock ‘musical’ from Catalyst Theatre.” - THE EDMONTON JOURNAL

The cynical, skeptical daughter of a theoretical physicist and a composer, Sarah Jean’s clinical approach to love meets with little success. In this absorbing drama infused with science and classical music, three exceptional minds collide like charged particles in an accelerator. Sarah Jean’s hugely talented yet severely dysfunctional family will learn that love and time itself are connected in unimaginable ways. Infinity is the highly-anticipated NAC debut of Ottawa-raised Hannah Moscovitch, one of Canada’s most exciting playwrights. “Infinity is one of those wonderful plays that make you feel smarter. The writing is clever and the performances are profound. And, having a pre-schooler at the time I saw the show, Sarah Jean’s epic little girl tantrum made me cringe with delight!” – Jillian Keiley, Artistic director, NAC English Theatre

A sweeping drama of personal and political ambition follows soon-to-be Premier Joey Smallwood – the self-described “Last Father of Confederation” – as he propels the Dominion of Newfoundland into union with Canada in 1949. Both saint and sinner, the charismatic, controversial Smallwood is hounded every step of the way by witty, booze-soaked reporter Sheilagh Fielding – his intellectual equal and lifelong nemesis. With a crackling narrative, sultry jazz score and a cast of forty characters, The Colony of Unrequited Dreams is an epic and expansive retelling of a defining Canadian story. “My collaborator Robert Chafe started working on Wayne Johnston’s epic in 2009. It was a nearly impossible task – a story spanning 25 years with the most unlikely hero and villain combined in one man as ever landed in our collective history. This production debuted in January 2015 and I’m really proud to bring it to our national stage.” – Jillian Keiley, Artistic director, NAC English Theatre “Artistic Fraud is one of the most innovative and exciting theatre companies in Canada. The set design and staging were kinetic, memorable, elemental. Desks, chairs, walls, and actors slid and curved into place like perfectly thrown curling stones – like the stage floor was made of smooth ice. I found myself wishing that Colony of Unrequited Dreams could be made into a mini-series.” - NFLDTXT.COM An Artistic Fraud of Newfoundland (St. John’s) production in collaboration with Canada’s National Arts Centre.

In Victorian London, bitter, selfish Ebenezer Scrooge spends Christmas Eve counting his money. But unexpected visits by the ghost of his former partner Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come change his life forever. This heart-warming classic tale of redemption and the true meaning of the season is a unique, stylish new production designed by the acclaimed Bretta Gerecke and showcasing dazzling guest artists from the NAC’s worlds of theatre, music and dance. Join the Cratchit family in a perfect holiday treat for the entire family! “I’m always looking for a Canadian angle to things, even when they're written by the most iconic of Brits. This Christmas Carol is built around the stars featured in NAC seasons across the disciplines. It’s a perfect opportunity to see the wonderful array of Canada’s best, in one of the world’s best holiday stories.” – Jillian Keiley, Artistic director, NAC English Theatre

In this exhilaratingly original, multimedia one-man show, actor / comedian / radio broadcaster Tetsuro Shigematsu tells the dynamic story of an emotionally distant father whose legacy is felt beyond his lifetime. From the ashes of Hiroshima to swinging 1960s London, Akira’s incredible personal history continues to influence two generations. Separated by language, culture and history, what truly keeps father and son apart are their similarities. Empire of the Son is a funny, emotional and deeply thoughtful portrayal of parent/ child relationships. Empire of the Son was recently nominated for five Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, including Outstanding Production, Actor and Direction. “I couldn’t help but hear the incredible amount of talk this work generated after its sold out debut in Vancouver last year. West of the Rockies, it was on the top of the reviewers’ year-end lists and when you see it, you’ll know why. In Empire of the Son, the personal becomes magic.” – Jillian Keiley, Artistic director, NAC English Theatre

Get back to your roots! “If you want to know a black woman, you touch her hair,” says Novelette of the clients in her Toronto hair salon. ‘da Kink is raw, energetic theatre, showcasing eight fascinating, multi-faceted women. With riffs on sexuality, families and inner lives, this theatrical kaleidoscope is accompanied by live rhythm-and-blues and gospel music. A joyous and triumphant hit, this hugely popular work by writer/ performer Trey Anthony kicks off the English Theatre season with style. “‘da Kink was a revolution when it sprang from the Toronto Fringe to land on the main stage of the Mirvish season in 2005. The script is so entertaining and so moving I jumped at the opportunity to work with Theatre Calgary to bring this beloved work back to Canadian audiences.” – Jillian Keiley, Artistic director, NAC English Theatre

In this final Points of View of the 2015/16 season, Artistic Director Jillian Keiley hosts a discussion with two special guests, Belles Soeurs Producer Allan Sandler and Joël Beddows, Outgoing Director, Department of Theatre, University of Ottawa / Incoming Artistic Director, Théâtre français de Toronto, about the impact of Michel Tremblay’s Les Belles-Soeurs on the development of Quebec theatre, and the creation of this English-language musical production. Belles Soeurs: The Musical is now clearly a musical in the Broadway sense. The jokes remain hilarious. The result is a highly entertaining show. No musical lover should miss this historic production.”– Montreal Gazette

Something happened at the Concord Floral greenhouse. Nobody talks about it – until two girls uncover the horrifying secret. Now havoc has been unleashed, forcing ten teenagers to flee a mysterious plague they’ve brought upon themselves. Featuring ten young Ottawa actors, Concord Floral is a supernatural cellphone thriller with alternating kicks of conscience, cruelty, denial and morality. One of Canada’s fastest-rising artists, Governor General’s Award-winning playwright Jordan Tannahill takes us to a surreal and gothic suburbia. This new work is a highly entertaining Canadian tale. Learn More! “…masterfully blends naturalistic dialogue, poetic lyricism and magic realism. Concord Floral is an ensemble choral piece that packs a theatrical and emotional punch.” NOW TORONTO Concord Floral - March 29 - April 9, 2016 - NAC STUDIO

BOOM chronologically documents a historical period stretching from that first ‘boom’ of the Atomic Bomb in 1945 all the way to the Apollo 11 landing the first human beings on the Moon in 1969. These two iconic moments span 25 of the most tumultuous years in modern history, fuelled by a generation of children with incredible influence due to their numbers, and to the advances of technology and communication. Award-winning writer, director and legendary solo-performer Rick Miller brings to life dozens of politicians, writers, activists and entertainers, effortlessly recreating each one. "Technology and the way we used it was key not only to the execution of it but also the themes" explains Miller. BOOM allows the audience to experience the global events as they unfold – the Cold War, McCarthyism, Beatlemania, Trudeaumania, JFK, MLK, Mao, Vietnam and several others. The various stories spiral into the “The Summer of Love”, and BOOM ends as it began – with a new generation born into a new world order.

In this Points of View, NAC English Theatre Associate Artistic Director Sarah Garton Stanley hosts a discussion with three special guests, Pityu Kenderes and Judd Palmer of The Old Trout Puppet Workshop, and University of Ottawa Theatre Professor Kathryn Prince, on the making of this production of Twelfth Night and other imaginative interpretations of Shakespeare. “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Twelfth Night Act 3, Scene 4 Full of visual surprises, this production brings together the 2015/16 Ensemble with an inventive design from Calgary’s Old Trout Puppet Workshop. It’s an animated interpretation of Shakespeare as you’ve never seen it before! One of the Bard’s most popular comedies explores passion and the pain of trying to keep it a secret, raising the curtain on a mad scramble of misdirected desire, cross-dressing and a provocative love triangle. This unique take on the timeless Twelfth Night features pop music alongside Shakespeare’s buoyant wordplay and some of his wittiest love scenes.

Aboriginal. Actor. Addict. Residential School Survivor. Cat Burglar. Homosexual. Jack Charles is an Australian tribal Elder and a living legend. This highly entertaining and autobiographical presentation, which includes a three-piece band, runs the gamut of a life lived to its utmost, spanning Charles’ career as an actor/musician, a lifetime of political activism, and a terrifying descent into heroin addiction and petty crime. His experience as a stolen child echoes the plight of Canada’s own Indigenous people – and his heart-warming presence, generous spirit and unswerving optimism make his journey one of resilience and reconnection. Jack Charles is a theatrical marvel.